


The Walking Dead: Saving Grace

by KotOR_Luvr



Series: The Walking Dead: Saving Grace [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (Video Games)
Genre: Action, F/M, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-08-10 21:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7861162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KotOR_Luvr/pseuds/KotOR_Luvr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marianne never questioned herself or what she believed in. Ever. However, as the world around her crumbles, the people around her die and you're lucky to see the light of the next day, her faith is put to the test. This is her story as she and her friends, Ben and Travis, try to survive in a world where the Dead rule and the Living are your worst nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> I know that I should be focusing on my other stories but I really need a break from my usual stories and fandoms and this is the ticket I need to get on that train. Telltale Games' The Walking Dead is a knitty, gritty story that I enjoyed and I think it'd be interesting to see how someone new interacts with the whole situation. Please note that some lines will be changed up because I didn't want to copy the lines of the game exactly, so there's that. And also, I did A LOT of VERY extensive research on the game and there was a lot of unused audio and concepts in the game and I'm going to be reviving at least some of them in this story because I want to experiment with the events that could've taken place if some of the audio and concepts were actually used. (Extra Note: Apologies if you cannot understand Maria too to well but I was working on my Scottish accent writing and had done some extensive research on the slang and terms and words used, so apologies if it doesn't make sense. For reference, however, "Ah" is the word for "I".) Anyways, I best shut the heck up and let y'all read. I hope y'all enjoy!

"Don't you think we should stop and rest?"

"What, and have those guys catch up to us?"

"Travis, we've been walking fer' a few hours, Ah doubt tha' they're even followin' us."

"Marianne, let them fight, you know how bullheaded the boys can be."

She shifted her back pack and crossed her arms, realizing that he was right. They had been through a lot and they all had some stresses and frustrations, some more than others. She briefly thought back to when the raid had happened; the gun shots, the screams of terror, the bandits had just torn up the whole camp. They had barely made it out alive. She was just glad that she made it out with her friends, Travis and Ben. She was also glad that their music teacher, David Parker, had made it out with them; they needed a voice of reason, an _adult_ voice.

She quickened her pace to walk beside David. "Ah dinnae think tha' Ah ever told ye' how much tha' it's good yer' around."

"Oh?"

"Aye; between two bawheid boys and a soft-voiced lass, someone's head will be torn off at some point. Yer the one tha' can put a stop to tha'."

David let out a soft chuckle. "Well, I know you can get angry but I don't think you'd rip off their heads."

Maria let out a chuckle of her own. "They haven't annoyed me tha' much. Yet."

"Trav, come on, just chill out!"

Travis scoffed. "Yeah, 'chill out'; tell that to the bandits when they find us!"

"Like Maria said, the bandits aren't chasing us anymore!"

She turned around and pointed at the two boys. "Oi, ye just keep me out o' this! Ah said my piece."

"How do either of you know that they aren't trying to chase us?"

"Travis, use yer noggin'; they had several other people t' worry about and there was only about a dozen bandits compared t' dozens of students an' teachers!"

David sighed and turned around. "If you all don't stop arguing, I'll have to- ARGHH!"

All three students were startled by David's sudden cry and stopped dead in their tracks. He was huddled on the ground, favouring his leg.

"What the fuck?!" Travis shouted, kneeling down beside their teacher. "Who would put a bear trap out here?!"

Maria knelt down on the other side of David. "We need t' pry it open or somethin'!"

"How? We don't have anything!" Ben said, looking around nervously.

Maria grabbed David's hand and squeezed tight. "Alright, ye just need t' stop movin' fer a wee bit. Take deep breaths-"

"AHH!"

Travis had tried to remove the trap on his own, only succeeding in cutting his own hand. "Travis, ye wee jessie! Dinnae try t' open tha' on yer own!"

"Maybe if he just tried moving his leg, or something?"

"Great idea, Ben, then maybe he'll just end up getting more stuck and bleeding out!"

"Sorry I said anything..."

The next few moments were filled with quick arguments, small quips and just trying to get David's leg out of the steel trap. Maria did her best to try and calm him down, squeezing his hand as he cried out again. She started to hum a small tune, more to help calm her own nerves than David's.

"Jesus Christ..."

Travis stood up but Maria stayed put.

"Oh, shit; please, don't kill us! We just wanna help our teacher, then we'll leave, I swear!"

She looked to see two men, both carrying weapons. One was wearing some sort of a leather jacket, short and dark brown hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses and he was carrying some sort of sniper. The other man, dark skin and darker eyes, chocolate brown hair, carrying an axe; he definitely looked like someone who could handle himself in a fight.

Another man came running from the woods. He looked much older, sporting a mustache and long brown hair. He wore some old looking clothes, a long sleeved green shirt and jeans and a cap. "Lee! You guys okay?"

Maria held David's hand tighter as he suddenly began to struggle. "Just get it off! Get it off, goddammit!"

Ben was struck with an idea. "Travis, maybe they can help us!"

"These might be the same guys who raided our camp and we barely got away from _that_!"

"We're not gonna hurt you!" The man, whom was called Lee, said.

Maria could tell that he was the authoritative, but friendly, type. Trying to diffuse the situation as best as he possibly could. She addressed him, "Look, just help us get him get out o' this trap! Please..."

A moment of silence passed between the two groups before the man in the jacket shook his head. "Lee, this is fucked up; we've _got_ to help them."

"Please!"

Travis hit Ben's arm. "Shut up, Ben! My dad was Special Forces, I know what I'm doing!"

Maria snapped at him. "Oh, so then ye' got some special trainin' tha' we dinnae kno' about, lad?"

"Be quiet, Maria!"

"Excuse ye, sir?"

"Was he bitten?" Lee asked.

Ben shook his head. "No, no, he wasn't bitten. I swear!"

The man in the jacket approached them and knelt down beside the trap, closely inspecting it. "Lee, this trap has been altered; there's no release latch!"

That statement made Maria's blood run cold. No release latch... That could mean one of two things; leaving David behind, or somehow removing his leg from the trap. Neither option sounded promising to her.

Travis gasped, grabbing her attention. "Oh no..."

The creatures were closing in on them, probably having heard David screaming. "Oh, shit; Walkers! It's now or never, Lee!"

"Please!" David cried. "Get me out of this!"

"Mark, get the kids back! Kenny; keep those Walkers off of me!"

Lee had tried everything; prying the trap, chopping the chain, chopping the trap itself. Maria could see the torn look on his face as he stood, adjusting his grip on the axe. "I'm gonna have to cut you out..."

David's eyes widened in panic. "No, no, no! Try the trap again, anything!"

There were many things that Maria had seen and endured in her life; stepping on nails, cutting her arm on a screw, seeing her brother nearly have his finger cut off by a lawnmower blade, all things that were pretty average on a farm. Witnessing someone have their leg chopped off was definitely not something she wanted on that list.

Pulling away from David she stood and brushed her fingers through her hair, taking deep breaths. She prayed a silent prayer, holding her Cross on her necklace. That's when the sounds of ripping flesh started and Maria clutched at the pendant, desperately trying to hold back the tears.

In a few brief moments there was no more shouts of pain or sounds of tearing flesh. All there was was the sounds of the monsters and gun shots. And the sound of Travis regurgitating his last meal.

"Is he...?"

"He passed out." Lee stated.

"Well if he's alive, grab him and let's go!"

Mark picked up David and started carrying him and Ben followed close behind. Lee looked back to Maria and Travis. "Let's go, you two!"

Maria patted Travis's back as he gagged, looking around nervously. "If yer done with yer cowking, Travis, we _really_ need t' get going!"

A Walker grabbed at Maria's shoulder, making her cry out in shock. "Get oaf me, ye doaty bastard!" She shouted, kicking the Walker away. Grabbing Travis by his arm, she forcibly pulled him along and shoved him ahead of her. "Run, ye daft idiot!"

/ / /

All was quiet at the Motor Inn, for once. After the boys had left to go hunting the argument levels had died down considerably. Duck was colouring on a large plank of wood, Clementine was kicking a soccer ball around and her father was working on reinforcing the fence.

Lilly smiled as she looked at her father, ever the hard worker. Her father had a temper on him but he worked hard around the Motor Inn and she was glad that she at least had _someone_ that truly cared about her and her efforts.

A rustling came from the bushes and she quickly turned her head, aiming the gun at the trees, waiting. She kept her finger off of the trigger, though, not wanting to reenact the time when she had nearly shot Lee.

_Bang._

They couldn't be back yet. It had only been about an hour.

_Bang._

Maybe something happened, maybe one of them got hurt.

_Bang._

The rustling got closer and Lilly whistled, making everyone crouch down or stay down on the ground. She brought her attention back to the trees, waiting for something to come from the forest.

Lee pushed through the patch of bushes, waving up at Lilly. "Get the gates open, we've got wounded!"

Lilly sneered. "Shit. What the _hell_ are they doing?" She hopped off of the RV as the gates were opened by Carley and Lee.

Two boys and a young girl pushed by Mark, stumbling over each other as they rushed in. Mark had a man over his shoulders, making Katjaa gasp.

"Who's that?"

"Who the hell are these people?!"

"There's no time to explain..."

"Lee, are you okay?"

"Get him on the truck, I'll see what I can do!"

The whole group was hounding them with questions, their voices escalating in volume and the kids stood off to the side, obviously not looking comfortable with the situation. Lilly tried grabbing Lee's attention, constantly shouting his name.

"Can you fix him, Kat?"

"Jesus, Ken. I dunno!"

"LEE!"

Everyone went quiet as Lilly's voice finally broke through. She glared at Lee. "What the hell, Lee. You can't just be bringing new people in here!"

Kenny fixed a glare of his own on Lilly. "Hey, you just wanna calm the fuck down for a minute?"

Larry snapped at him. "Hey, you watch your mouth!"

"No, I don't! I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea!"

Maria shrunk back, rubbing her arms. She didn't like where any of this was going. The one man, Lee, seemed like a nice enough guy despite that he had just chopped David's leg off, but she realized that he probably wasn't the leader of the group.

"I thought we could save his life!" Lee explained. "I'm the one that took his leg, that makes me responsible!"

"We are _not_ responsible for every struggling survivor we come across! We have to focus on _our_ group, right _here_ , right _now_."

Mark spoke next in the hopes that he could diffuse the situation. "Come on Lilly, these are people! People who are trying to survive, just like us! We need to stick together if we really want to survive!"

Lilly turned to Mark. "The only reason you're here is because you had food. Enough for _all_ of us, but that food is almost gone and we've got maybe a week's worth left."

She then turned to Travis, Ben and Maria, hands on her hips. "And I don't suppose you three are carrying any groceries, are you?"

All three just stood there, almost too stunned to speak. Gathering all of her courage, Maria raised her hand slightly. "Uh, maybe?"

Travis looked incredulous. "What?! You had food with you and you didn't bother to tell us?!"

She jabbed a finger at him. "Oi, Ah had my reasons, ye jessie! If we all ate food we would be oot by now! We needed t' ration the food!"

Lilly crossed her arms in disbelief. "Let's see it, then."

Slowly, Maria took the pack off of her back and gave it to Lilly who took it and opened it. "You call this a food supply?" She scoffed, dropping the bag beside the RV.

Maria tried her best not to be too harsh with the woman. She understood that she was stressed and going through a lot, not unlike she and her two friends. "Please, try t' understand, our camp was raided by bandits. The camp was almost torn completely apart an' the boys an' Ah barely made it oot alive! Ah grabbed wot Ah could an' then we were oot o' there. I'm sorry it's no' much, but it'll last a short while..."

Mark sighed, slowly walking away from the feuding group. "Welcome to the family, kids."

Maria shuffled her feet slightly and then she felt the sleeve of her jacket being pulled. She looked down to see a small girl, almost no older than ten, pulling on her sleeve. "Come over here and see what I drew."

She cracked a small smile at the girl; she was no idiot and knew that the three of them were nervous. "Alright, lassie."

Maria gestured and Ben and Travis followed close behind her. As the little girl lead her to a wooden plank, Maria began to think. She really didn't know what to think about the group. About five out of the nine of them were fairly pleasant, the rest didn't want much of anything to do with the three of them. If things continued the way that they currently were then chances were that they would be kicked out more sooner than later.

Maria didn't care. Just as long as they granted them a safe haven, even if for a few moments, she would be fine with it.

They all sat down and watched as the girl and the young boy drew on some paper, from furry cats to puffy clouds, sunny skies and green grass. It reminded her of the good old days before the dead were walking and the living started killing each other mercilessly.

 _ **My Lord, please grant us some mercy.**_ She prayed. _**I know that mankind is undeserving of it, especially now and in this time, but please, just cut us some form of a break. Please...**_

"Hey, Clementine, you need something to eat."

Maria turned her head and saw Lee, handing the girl, Clementine, an apple. _**Looks like he's handing out food...**_

"Thanks, Lee. A sundae would be better next time." She joked.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time."

Lee then handed the little boy, Duck, some crackers and cheese. She smiled, once again, at the acts in which Lee was performing. He knew what was important, keeping the children fed was a must. They ran out of energy far quicker than adults did.

He then approached she and the boys. "Hey guys."

Silence.

He cleared his throat. "So, who are you people, exactly? The group's gonna want to know?"

Ben spoke first, being the most trusting of the bunch. "I'm Ben. Ben Paul. The man you saved is David Parker, our band director. We came down from Stone Mountain for the playoffs when... Everything happened."

Travis raised his hand. "Travis."

Maria nodded. "Marianne Elizabeth Grace, but everyone calls me Maria or Mary."

Lee chuckled. "Everyone?"

"Everyone. Only my maw can call me Marianne, but when she does," She gestured with her thumb, "Ye be seeing me runnin' th' opposite direction."

Lee chuckled again but his demeanor quickly switched back into seriousness. "Listen, uh, Maria? I appreciate what you did back there, with the food."

"Och, dinnae mention it, Lee. No sense 'n keepin' anything from anyone, nowadays."

"No, I do have to mention it. Things got pretty tense back there and I think anyone else would've probably done otherwise."

"Tense is puttin' it lightly, lad, but Ah see yer point."

Lee nodded. "I got another question; how did you three end up together? You said your camp was raided and Maria here said that you barely got out alive..."

The three high school students looked between one another, the memories of the raid flowing back to them. Maria cleared her throat. "Well, it was no' always like this. There were more o' us."

"Yeah, right around forty or so." Said Ben. "The bandits had our number for a while, always trying to screw with us."

Travis nudged Ben's elbow with his own. "He doesn't need _all_ the details." He looked up at Lee, clearly still unable to trust him. Maria just shook her head at the boy. "Long story short, the lil' bawbags had been messing with us fer weeks an' Ah was prepared. Ah had been gathering food fer a while in case we ran oot or were low on it, had a back pack stored away. When th' raid happened, Ben and Travis and David had managed to grab me an' sneak oot. They had seen us an' tried killin' us, but we were oot of range of their crossbows an' shotguns."

"Sorry you had to go through that."

"No' yer fault, Lee, no need t' apologize."

Lee cleared his throat. "Alright then... I guess I'll talk to you guys later."

He walked away and all was silent again. Lee seemed like a nice enough man, he left some pretty good first impressions. Loyal, brave, kind, face of a leader and a good father figure to the girl. He also seemed to be the most sane out of the whole group, aside from the lady in the purple jacket and Mark. A voice of reason was good, especially in times like these.

"Do you think anyone else could've made it?"

Maria was shaken from her thoughts. "Hm?"

Ben shrugged. "I mean, not _all_ of them could be dead, right? Some of them could've gotten away."

Maria shrugged back. "Ye never know, Benjamin; the Russian exchange group could have made it."

Travis scoffed. "Yeah, I doubt the Russians made it out, especially with R.V. with them."

Maria pointed a finger at the boy. "Oi, dinnae judge Arvo! He may no' have the use o' both his legs, but Ah know he had some friends here in America an' he knows how t' shoot a gun. He's more capable than ye know."

Travis scoffed again, obviously not buying it. "Yeah, sure."

"You know, Trav, it's alright to have a little bit of hope every now and then."

"So what if they made it through?" Travis snapped. "Even if they did, what are the chances that we'll see them again?"

Ben couldn't argue with that so he stayed silent, watching the kids draw.

Maria understood Travis and his current attitude; he had taken the worst blow from the raid. The bandits had started shooting up the place and tearing through the camp like wild animals, shooting anyone who ran. Travis's brother had tried running but the bandits got him before he could go too far. Since then he had been somewhat of a recluse and was acting hostile towards people; it wasn't good. Not one bit.

She leaned over, gently nudging Travis. "Oi, Trav? Listen, Ah know tha' ye went through a lot back when the raid happened, but ye gotta-"

Maria was interrupted by a shout. Looking over, she saw Lee pulling the woman, Katjaa, away from a reanimated David Parker. "Grab the axe. Hurry!"

She cursed under her breath. "Shit..." Maria sat up and bolted over to the RV, grabbing her pack and opening it.

Various shouts of alarm were heard as Lee struggled to fight off the Walker. "MOVE! MOVE!"

A crash was heard and curses could be heard above the shouts and snarling. Maria, having finally found what she was looking for, turned and saw that Mark had gotten the axe stuck and Lee was struggling to fight the Walker from biting into his neck. "Hold 'em still!" She shouted.

Maria swung the hatchet down, killing the Walker instantly. All was silent as Lee shoved David off of him, wiping the blood off of his hands. "Thanks." He said.

Maria waved, suddenly feeling out of breath. Travis and Ben were beside her in an instant, asking if she was okay.

"Why'd you bring him here in the first place, asshole?!"

"Dad, please calm down..." Lilly said.

"You're gonna get us all killed!"

Kenny glared menacingly at the three students. " _YOU_ said he wasn't bitten!"

"What?!" They all shouted in unison.

"We asked y'all, _point blank_ , 'was he bitten?', and you said no!"

Ben stepped back. "He _wasn't_! We swear!"

Kenny took a threatening step towards the group. "Well, your 'not bitten' friend just came back to life, and tried to kill my wife!"

Travis took a step in front of Ben and Maria protectively. "He wasn't!"

Maria leaned towards Travis. "Travis, lad, Ah dinnae think they know..."

"The hell you talking about, girl?!"

They all paused, looking between one another. Maria stepped forward. "We know from personal experience tha' it's no' the bite tha' does it."

This seemed to grab the group's attention, so she continued. "Ye come back an' it does no' matter how ye die, unless you destroy the brain, yer gonna turn."

"You can't be serious..." Lee said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Maria raised an eyebrow, rolling up the sleeve of the jacket. "Ye want evidence tha' a bite does no' matter?"

Travis grabbed her arm. "Maria, don't-"

"They're gonna find oot sooner or later!" She snapped, rolling up the rest of her sleeve. Turning her attention back to the group, she thrust her arm out. "Here is yer evidence."

A gruesome looking bite mark was on Maria's arm, scarred over, small bruises dotting around the scar.

"Son of a bitch..." Larry cursed. "She's bitten!"

"Take a good look, yeah?" She said, backing away from the larger man. "This bite is about three months old! Ah haven't turned!"

A lot of them crossed their arms or shook their heads, unable to believe anything that was said. "But we've seen more than enough people turn who were bitten." Mark said, unsure if Maria was being honest about her bite.

"All we know is that we've seen people turn who we _know_ were _never_ bitten." Ben said, his voice cracking. "When we first saw it happen, we were hiding out in the gym, thinking it would be safe there. One of the girls, Jenny Pitcher I think, I guess she couldn't take it any longer. She had taken some pills... _A lot_ of them. The next day someone went into the girls' room, and... God..." He shook his head at the returning memories.

Maria sighed. "We had lost a lot o' people, tha' day. Good people."

Suddenly a shout echoed through the air. "Back off!"

"Woah, lady, relax! Me and my brother, we just want to know if y'all can help us out and give us some gas?"

"I said 'back off'!" She shouted again, still pointing the gun at the two men. Lilly stepped forward, trying to get her to stand down. "Carley..."

"Are you armed?" Lee demanded.

The shorter one nodded. "Yeah, for protection. The dead could be anywhere!"

Maria grabbed the hilt of her hatchet, pulling it out of David's head. "I dinnae like these men..." She said to Ben and Travis.

"Why?"

"They dinnae give me good vibes..."

The taller one sounded nervous as he spoke. "Yeah, but it looks like you got the upper hand, here..."

Carley looked to Lee then back at the two men. "Why do you need gas?"

"Our place is protected by an electric fence! We need gas to keep the generators running! Look, we own a Dairy up the road a few miles so, if y'all would just lower your guns, we could maybe work out some sort of trade?"

"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the Dairy!"

Whispers were heard as people discussed what the two men had said. **_Food..._** Maria thought. **_The only thing in this world that we really need, nowadays..._**

Lilly leaned over and whispered something to Lee, who looked tense about the whole situation.

"So what do y'all think?"

Lee contemplated what the brothers said, carefully determining if this was really the best course of action. If they didn't agree then they all may starve to death by the end of the week. But they didn't know these people, they didn't know if they were being honest or not. But what if they were being honest? Then they'd be missing out on a good meal.

"You got a deal." Said Lee. "We'll give you _some_ gas and in exchange you give us some food to bring back to the Motor Inn. We'll see how things play out, then."

The taller one nodded and smiled. "Sounds fair. A couple of gallons should power up one of the generators for a while!"


	2. Hell's Haven

"Alright, do ye have any... Jacks?"

"Go fish."

Marianne sighed, picking up a card from the pile. "A part of me believes tha' ye may be cheatin', Clementine."

Clementine giggled. "How can you cheat in 'Go Fish'?"

"I actually dinnae know, but Ah still think yer cheatin'." She replied with a wink.

Marianne had, somehow, managed to find a deck of cards in one of the motel rooms. Granted, a couple of cards were missing, but that wasn't enough to ruin a good game of Go Fish with the younger kids.

"Your turn, Travis!" Clementine said with a smile.

Okay, maybe not _just_ the little kids.

Travis sighed. "Marianne; you got any Two's?"

Marianne groaned. "Aye, tha' Ah do." She handed him the card. "I dinnae get how yer all managing t' get all o' these pairs while Ahm stuck givin' 'em t' ye!"

"Face it, Maria, we're just better than you."

Marianne mocked surprise. "Oh, are ye, now? Ye sure about tha', Travis?"

Travis shrugged. "Pretty sure."

"Look, Ben and Carley are back!" Duck exclaimed, causing Marianne and Travis to stand up. They _were_ back and with a basket, possibly with food.

Marianne dashed over as they came through the gate, wrapping Ben up in a hug then slapping him on his back as she released him. "Good t' see yer not eaten."

Carley chuckled. "What am I, chopped liver?"

She opened her arms again. "Ye want a hug too, then?"

"I'll pass."

Travis gestured to the basket in Carley's hand. "What's in there?"

Carley and Ben shifted uncomfortably and it almost looked like their cheeks were red. "Well, there _were_ more biscuits." Ben said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lilly approached the two. "Well, since you seem to have eaten your fair share, then you both can stay back. We need people to defend the Motor Inn anyways."

The rest of the group had gathered around them, then, obviously ready to leave. "Before you guys go, we got to warn you that we saw a couple of bandits on the way up to the Dairy." Said Carley.

Lilly rolled her eyes at Carley. "Yeah, thanks."

Marianne could see that there was some tension between the two women, for whatever reason. As they began to leave the Motor Inn she patted Ben on his shoulder. "Ah guess we'll be seein' ye in a bit."

Ben looked almost glum. "Yeah."

/ / /

When they had arrived at the dairy, they were all shocked to see that Mark had an arrow coming out of his shoulder, from the bandits, Marianne realized. When the brothers, Danny and Andy, had left the small group to talk amongst themselves, Lilly immediately expressed her mistrust.

"We should just take our food to go." She had said.

Marianne just shook her head. She just couldn't believe the insecurity of the group. Lilly was trying to act democratically, Kenny was trying to be a dictator, Lee was trying to make both see within reason and the rest of them were just as confused as she, Ben and Travis were. A small part of her wished that they hadn't stumbled upon Lee's group, thinking that insecure groups often ended up breaking or crashing down. She didn't want to be there when that happened.

Travis nudged her arm. "Hey, Maria? You're zoning out again."

She looked blankly at him. "Oh."

"What're you thinking about?"

She shrugged, crossing her arms. "No' much, really. Ahm just wonderin' if it really was a miracle tha' Lee had found us in th' woods..."

"What do you mean by that?"

She opened her mouth to speak but quickly reconsidered, seeing as the people on her mind were standing right next to them. She nodded her head. "Walk with me."

Travis shoved his hands in his pockets, walking alongside Marianne. "So, what's on your mind?"

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She didn't know if speaking her mind about Lee's group to Travis was the best of ides, seeing that he himself didn't trust them very much. But she needed to voice her worries to someone. "Ahm just thinkin' about how th' group seems t' be in distress." She explained. "At first, Ah thought tha' God had finally shown us a wee bit o' mercy when Lee had found us. But this group..." She shook her head. "This group is fallin' apart, Travis."

"Gee, you think?"

"Shut yer geggy a minute, would ye?" She snapped. "Aye, 'tis a miracle tha' we managed t' even _find_ anyone friendly in the state tha' we were in, but Lilly seems on edge. That older man, Kenny, he dinnae seem t' enjoy Lilly callin' the shots. Lee seems t' be the only one tha' isna talkin' mince."

"'Mince'?"

"Talkin' crazy or nonsense."

"Oh."

"In short, lad, Ah dinnae think tha' staying with th' group is th' best o' ideas."

"My thoughts exactly."

For the remainder of the evening, Travis and Marianne had kept to themselves as much as possible. Of course, Andy had come around and asked them a few questions, mainly about the group. This immediately made Marianne suspicious of him and she answered both honestly but defensively. She thought that he would've asked Lee more questions but she could've easily been wrong.

"How did you two end up in this little group?" Andy asked.

"They found us," said Travis, "when our teacher got caught in some sort of bear trap."

Andy shook his head, obviously displeased. "Probably those damn bandits, again."

Marianne crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at Andy. "Ye seem t' be placing th' blame on th' bandits quite a wee bit."

"Well, who else do you think could've done that?" Andy asked, seeming to be more defensive. "They've been getting a lot more aggressive, lately, so I wouldn't put it past them."

She nodded. _**Understandable, I suppose...**_ "Aye, tha' they have."

"Well, I best be helping out Doc with the cow; thank God she took a look at her." Andy said, smiling. "I thought that she might've been sick or something."

Andy left the two teenagers alone and they both looked at each other. "Ye see?" Marianne pointed at the retreating form of Andy. "They seem t' be putting a lot o' th' blame on th' bandits. Some part o' me thinks tha' they may be hidin' something..."

"Yeah." Travis agreed.

Marianne noticed Lee and Danny walking up the lane, Lee looking somewhat displeased with Danny. He tossed the gun back to Danny, shaking his head at him. "You're back!" Brenda exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Handled it, mama."

Lee went up the stairs to where Brenda was sitting, briefly speaking with her. "What do you think happened?" Travis asked Marianne.

Lee left Brenda on the stairs. "Ask Lee, he'll probably tell ye." She pushed herself away from the picket fence that she was leaning on. "Meanwhile, Ahm going t' talk t' Brenda."

Marianne pushed open the gate and walked up the set of stairs, sitting herself beside Brenda. "Ah dinnae believe we properly met." She held out her hand, which Brenda shook. "Marianne Elizabeth Grace."

"Such a beautiful name you got, Marianne! I'm Brenda St. John."

"Pleased t' meet ye, Brenda."

Brenda pointed to the necklace Marianne was wearing. "That's quite the piece of jewelry you got, there."

She took it off, showing it to Brenda. "My maw gave it t' me as a gift for my Baptism, around five years ago."

"Oh," Brenda exclaimed, handing the necklace back to her. "It's good to see that there's at least someone who still stays strong in their faith."

"Yer a follower of Christ, as well?"

"You betcha, sweetheart." Brenda said, smiling. "It's how I was raised and that's how my boys were raised. We need to keep strong in times like these!"

"Aye, tha' we do."

It was easy to keep Brenda talking, Marianne figured out. In the short time that they had been talking she had figured out many things about the St. Johns and their dairy farm; how Brenda met Terry, about how the farm had started up and what had happened when the whole outbreak started. Brenda had said that a Walker had gotten into the house through the back, catching Terry by surprise. They had the time to give him a proper burial, she said, and she had been most grateful for that.

Brenda stood up. "Well, dinner should be ready right about now." She said, grabbing a small metal stick from the ledge of the porch. She used it to hit a metal triangle, ringing loudly across the farm.

The group started coming from the barn and Gazebo, all of them eager to finally get food in their bellies. **_Where's Lee?_** Marianne wondered, noting that he was missing from the group.

Once Brenda saw that they were all (mostly) accounted for, she set the metal stick down. "C'mon in, Marianne. You get to pick where you sit, first."

Marianne smiled at the older woman, standing from her seat on the stairs. "Thank ye, Brenda."

"Oh, don't mention it, honey."

Marianne, having been raised on a farm, knew that washing her hands first was a must. No telling what kind of dirt or germs she could've touched. Drying them on the towel, she took a seat on the far end of the table.

"Allow me to take that small hatchet of yours, Marianne." Said Brenda.

Marianne removed her hatchet from her belt, handing it over to Brenda. She placed it on the small coffee table at the end of the dining room. "Now you can sit more comfortably."

Everyone slowly filed in. Travis sat beside Marianne and Andy on the opposite side of her. "Yer mother is a real sweetheart, Andrew."

"Yeah, she's the best!" Andy agreed. "She can be stern but she's got a real soft spot for people."

Danny sat at the end of the table, leaning the gun against it. Marianne immediately became suspicious. _**Why would they need a gun at the dinner table?**_

"Everyone sit down, now, and I'll go get the meal." Brenda said. "Ooh, this _is_ a delight!"

"I could eat a horse!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Where's Mark?" Lee asked, looking around the dinner table.

Brenda placed a hand on her hip. "Oh, don't you worry about Mark, I already brought some food up for him. You just let him rest. Now c'mon and sit down."

Marianne couldn't help but notice the small bit of suspicion in Lee's face. "Mind if I wash my hands first?"

"Bathroom is right outside in the hall." She moved to go into the kitchen, but then stopped. "Oh, and be sure to get under your nails; you've been mucking around in the dirt all day."

Lee left and Brenda went and got the food from the kitchen; fresh greens and potatoes and barbecued meat. Marianne's stomach churned as the meat was passed around and she was quick to pass it on to Travis. "Aren't you taking any meat, Marianne?" Brenda asked.

She realized she must've appeared rude. "Oh, Ahm sorry, it's not tha' Ah dinnae like it, it's just..." She sighed, waving her hands. "Ahm a vegetarian. Ah know tha' it isnae the best t' be picky, given our circumstances, but Ah just..."

"Oh, I understand, sweetheart. Just be sure to eat plenty of your greens, alright? Keep you good and healthy."

Marianne smiled and nodded, gratefully taking the potatoes and salad. "Thank ye." She then bowed her head, grabbing at the pendant around her neck, praying to herself silently. When she was finished she looked up and saw a few people giving her funny or confused looks, which she just shrugged off.

Brenda sat down and realized that they were missing a guest. "Lee?" She called out. "Did ya' fall in? Everyone's having at!"

Marianne took a bite of the buttered potatoes, her mouth salivating at the burst of sweet flavour. She took care in eating slowly, seeing that she hadn't had a proper meal in months.

She heard rapid _thuds_ and then she heard Lee shout, "Clementine, don't eat that!"

She looked over past Andy and saw Clementine put a fork, filled with meat, down on her plate. Everyone talked among themselves. "Lee," Kenny said, " Jesus, man, what's wrong? Did you find something?"

Larry wasn't pleased with Lee. "Aw, sit your ass down, Lee! This lady has made you a meal!"

"Yeah, Lee. What's gotten into you?"

"Mark is upstairs with his fucking legs hacked off! You're _eating_ him!"

Everyone started to become panicked, some pushing their plates away from them. Travis gagged, pushing his as far as he could. "Oh god..."

"You're scaring the kids, Lee."

Katjaa quickly took Duck's plate away from him and he protested, sharply. Lilly glared at Lee. "What the hell is going on?" She demanded.

"Go upstairs and look for yourself." He replied, pointing to the stairs. "Think about it! This is a Dairy, not a Ranch!"

Marianne looked around, slowly beginning to believe what Lee was saying. It did make sense, once she really thought about it. She grew up on a small farm but she was taught the same thing her parents were taught; 'Waste not, Want not'.

Brenda, who had all eyes on her, sighed heavily. "It's true..."

Marianne's blood ran cold at the confirmation and she began to shiver, not from the cold, however. She looked up to Travis for some form of reassurance and he patted her hand in a calming gesture. _**Please, Lord, let this all be nothing but a bad dream...**_

"He woulda' died, anyways!" Andy exclaimed. "We gotta think about _living_!"

"Settle down, honey..." Brenda chided her son. "Growing up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised and that's how I raised my boys! Now, you got monsters roaming around that do nothing but eat people, and for what? To rot away until they eat some more!"

Andy and Danny both looked very displeased as Brenda explained this and several other people started pushing away their plates. "I think I'm gonna puke..." Lilly muttered.

Marianne couldn't help sidle closer to Travis, feeling very unsafe beside Andy.

"You're all just sick..." Lee said, still not moving from his spot.

"Now, that's not a very nice thing to imply, Lee..." Brenda chided. She then calmed herself down. "Andy is right; we go after the ones who were gonna die anyways, one way or another..."

Danny swallowed his food. "Like y'all."

Everyone looked between one another, wondering what to do. "Kenny, grab your gun!"

Kenny stood, despite his wife telling him not to, but Andy and Danny were quick. Andy pulled out his gun, pointing it at Marianne's head. "Nobody's going anywhere!"

Danny had his gun in his hand. "We got nice use for y'all _right here_."

Marianne stared down the barrel of the gun, waiting for Andy to fire it. She never was really fazed by the concept of death, as she knew where she would be going, but right in this moment she was mortified. Despite her faith, she wasn't quite ready to leave the physical world.

Larry started spouting curses as Lilly shouted at the St. Johns. "Put your guns down! We are walking out of here!"

Travis sneered at Andy. "Fucking get that gun _away_ from her face!"

"Travis, yer no' helping!"

"I don't wanna die..." Duck whimpered. "Mommy, what did I eat?!"

"Everyone!" Lee shouted among the clamor. "Everything will be okay!"

"Lee..." Clementine whimpered.

Marianne looked up at Andy, who's attention suddenly wasn't on her. Before she could take action, he grabbed Clementine's hair, pulling her off of her seat while pointing the gun at Lee.

"LET HER GO, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Lee lunged forward but was stopped by Danny, who put his gun right at Lee's neck. "I wouldn't do that, if I was you..." He threatened.

All was quiet as a loud thud was heard and everyone's attention flew to the hallway, looking to see what had fell down. Everyone stayed still, looking uncertainly at one another. Marianne looked at Travis, who seemed just as scared as the rest of the group. It then sounded like someone was dragging themselves along the ground.

"Please..."

_**MARK!** _

"Someone..."

His full body came into view, well, the part of his body that was still there and Marianne gasped along with everyone else. She tried her best to stop the tears from flowing at the sight of the legless man. _**My Lord, why...?**_

"Clemen-"

Danny hit Lee with the butt of his gun, knocking him out cold. Marianne quickly took the initiative and jumped from her seat, trying to take Andy's gun. She didn't know what she would do with it if she got it, but it would be better than having it in his hand. "Ahm gonna skelp yer erse, ye bloody jessie!" She shouted.

A gunshot rang out and Marianne dropped, holding her one hand over her ear. Someone knelt beside her, yelling and shouting. She couldn't hardly tell because of the loud ringing in her ears. She turned onto her back, still holding her ear, and saw Clementine now struggling to get out of Andy's grasp and Travis kneeling over her.

"Get up..."

"You fucking shot her!"

"I said get up or she'll end up worse!"

Travis, most reluctantly, stood up and raised his hands. Marianne released her ear and looked at her hand, recognizing the familiar crimson colour of blood. _**The bloody jessie just shot me!**_

"Don't you fucking go near my family!" She heard Kenny shout.

"Back off, or the boy gets it!"

"Mama, keep an eye on that girl! She'll be a handful!"

Marianne put her hand back over her ear and stood up, using the wall for support. "Don't you move, Marianne!"

"Ahm just standing, ye hackit!" She snapped, gritting her teeth.

Andy and Danny were leading Lilly, Larry, Clementine and Kenny out of the house. Lee just lied on the floor, blood dripping from an open wound on his head. He was still breathing, which was good, but slowly.

"Andy, I'll need ya back in the house to help keep watch on these people."

"Yeah, mama."

Marianne hissed at the pain in her ear, now gaining a major headache. "Lee is right, ye know; there isnae anything right about eatin' other-"

"Now, you just be quiet, Marianne." Brenda snapped at her. She pointed the gun at her head. "Now, I want you to move nice and slow and sit right back down. All of you!"

Marianne leaned against the wall and released her ear, grabbing the Cross around her neck, not caring if she got blood on it. Compared to what was going on, a little bit of blood on some silver won't do no harm.

"I said _sit down_."

Marianne ignored Brenda, continuing to silently pray as she slid down the wall.

"Maria-"

"Boy, if you don't down-"

"Bitch, just shut up! Maria is scared, she needs to-"

Brenda shot a bullet, which hit the wall beside Travis. It was meant as a warning, he thought. He looked as Marianne continued to sit on the ground with her Cross in hand. **If there is a God... Please, just help us...**


	3. Starved No Longer

They were all quiet, none of them wanting to upset Brenda. Andy had gone out a few moments earlier to check up on Danny, he said. Katjaa had a protective arm around Duck, who held her in a tight embrace. Travis was trying his hardest to calm Marianne down seeing that she was shaking almost uncontrollably, probably from the shock of being shot. He would occasionally try to speak to her but she didn't seem to hear him.

Marianne's ear was ringing louder than a smoke detector and blood was trickling from in between her fingers, dripping onto her jacket. Some of the blood had already dried but fresh blood would continuously coat her hand. _**How close to my head did he shoot?**_ She wondered.

"She needs a bandage..."

"She don't need nothing, boy." Brenda snapped at him, pointing the gun at his head.

Travis tried not to let his anger get the best of him. "She can't be kept like this!"

Marianne patted his shoulder. "Travis, it's fine, lad."

Reluctantly, Travis stayed silent. He had a hard time keeping his anger in check, she thought, but he always seemed to calm down whenever Marianne appeared to be getting uncomfortable or if she said anything about his words or actions. It was real handy in some cases, especially in this one. If Travis were to get out of control, he would get himself killed. That was definitely something that Marianne would prefer to avoid.

All that they needed was some form of an upper hand; using one of the silverware on the table wasn't an option, seeing as they were useless compared to guns. If Marianne had her hatchet she could easily sneak up on Brenda while she wasn't looking.

Wait, her hatchet! Marianne looked back to the corner of the room where she saw Brenda put her hatchet; it was still there! Along with a small camcorder, a multi-tool and Kenny's pistol. When Brenda's attention wasn't on her, she nudged Travis and gestured over to the corner of the room. Confused, he looked to see what she was trying to turn his attention to. His head quickly snapped back, eyes widened as he shook his head. Marianne suppressed a sigh and shrugged. _**What other option is there?**_

The door opened and closed, startling all of them. "Everything alright out there, Andy?" Brenda asked, walking away from the table.

"Yeah, Danny's just guarding the barn. I told him to set out a trap just in case."

Brenda and Andy's attention were no longer on their captives, giving Marianne the perfect opportunity to take action. Slowly, she moved from her seat, careful as to not scrape the chair on the ground. Travis grabbed her wrist, once again shaking his head.

"Did you tell him that we can't keep all of them?"

"Yeah. He didn't say which ones, but I told him we couldn't keep the little girl. Not enough meat on her for trading."

She shook his hand off and knelt down, creeping up to the coffee table. Releasing her ear, she carefully grabbed her hatchet. Duck saw Marianne and was about to say something, but Katjaa quickly covered his mouth. She knew what Marianne was attempting to do and it would possibly save them, as long as they didn't make a sound or somehow draw the St. Johns attention back to them.

"Well, Lee looks like he has some good meat on him." Brenda said.

Marianne started to creep up on them, trying her best not to be seen. She didn't exactly know what she would do when she actually reached the St. Johns, but she knew she would have to do something. She gently reminded herself that it wasn't murder if it was self-defense; and this was definitely self-defense as well as protecting the lives of others. When she was almost behind Brenda, a gunshot came from the barn and Marianne covered her mouth with her free hand, holding back a gasp.

"What's Danny up to, now?" Andy sighed, his gaze turned to the door.

Marianne stood up and swung her hatchet back, releasing a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. _**Lord, forgive me...**_

"Mama, look out!"

Marianne brought swung her hatchet with all of the strength she could muster. She heard the familiar sound of metal on wood and she flinched as if she had been slapped.

Her hatchet missed and was embedded into the wall.

"Aw, shite..."

Marianne tried to pull her hatchet from the wall, but the hilt was covered in blood from her hand and was too hard to properly grasp. "How dare you, you little..."

Marianne felt someone's fist come into contact with her chin, making her stumble back. A second punch was delivered and the impact made her head crash into the wall and she fell to the floor, her vision blurry and unfocused.

She had expected another punch but nothing came. Instead she felt herself being gently lifted. "Maria?"

She tried to speak, but she couldn't. Her jaw wasn't broken, she knew that, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. This seemed to concern Travis further. "Maria, c'mon, say something!"

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing short of a small groan came from her throat. Thinking her throat was just dry, Marianne swallowed. Her face then contorted into disgust as the metallic tang of blood went down her throat. _**I must've bit my cheek or tongue, or something...**_

"Something ain't right..." Andy said. "I'm gonna take the boy and go around back, see what's wrong."

"NO! Please, don't take my boy!"

"Dammit woman, let go!"

Marianne tried to get up so she could help Katjaa but she was held back by Travis. "You're hurt, just calm down..."

She flipped the bird at him to express her disdain.

Brenda's attention was turned to the door but neither Marianne or Travis attempted to do anything. Marianne didn't want another punch and Travis wanted to make sure she wasn't harmed any further.

"Andy? Danny? Is that you?"

They heard a deep voice coming from outside. "Yeah, it's me."

Brenda seemed to believe the voice, at first, but upon her taking a closer look through the screen window her eyes widened in panic. "Oh, lord..."

Brenda grabbed Travis, tearing him away from Marianne. "Come here..."

"Let go of me, you son of a bitch!"

Katjaa grabbed Marianne's arm, who was trying to sit up. Brenda pointed the gun at both of them. "Don't you two move, or I'll shoot him!"

"Brenda, come on, you know you don't want to do this!"

Relief swept through Marianne at the sound of Lee's voice. That meant that he and the others must have gotten safely out of the barn.

Brenda pointed the gun back at Travis, who no longer tried to struggle away from her. "Just go away, leave us be!" She shouted, backing up the stairs.

As Lee tried to coax Brenda into calming down, Marianne pulled Katjaa down. "Grab the stuff..." She whispered.

"Stuff? Marianne, I-"

"Coffee table... Corner..."

Katjaa nodded and gently set Marianne down, going over to get the stuff. Of course, she wouldn't be able to carry everything but she could hand some of the items to Marianne. She tried to stand up, then, using the wall for support.

"Let him go, Brenda! There's no need for this!"

"Back off, Lee! Or I'll- AHHH!"

Marianne looked up to see that Brenda was being bitten by Mark... A reanimated Mark. She shook her head. _**Lord, please have mercy on her...**_

Travis ran from the stairs and over to her, swinging her arm over his shoulder. "Ah can walk, ye-"

"Would you just shut up and accept help for once, Maria?!" He snapped at her.

Katjaa handed Travis the pistol and he put it in the pocket of his jacket. "Lee, they took Duck! Where's Kenny?" She asked Lee.

"I said don't move!"

"Don't you fucking hurt him!"

Katjaa gasped. "Oh my god..."

She and Lee ran out of the house. Travis grunted as he tried lifting Marianne. "This isn't gonna work.." He said. Without warning, Travis used his free arm to slip it under her knees and he picked her up. Marianne groaned, spitting out more blood. "No need t' get in a flap about this, Travis! Ah can-"

"Last I checked," Travis interrupted her, "you could barely stand!"

Before she forgot, Marianne used both hands to pull her hatchet out of the wall. Nodding, he carried her out of the house where they were both hit with a torrent of rain. She hadn't realized it was storming outside.

Marianne heard a gunshot and she looked over to see that Andy had shot Kenny. Katjaa screamed, running and laying by her husband's side.

"We got t' do somethin', Travis!" She shouted, the storm nearly drowning out her voice. "We cannae just stand here an' watch!"

"What do you suggest?!" He shouted back at her. "We got nothing!"

"Who the fuck do you people think you are?!" Andy shouted, keeping his gun pointed at Duck. "Look at what you've done!"

Lee slowly approached Andy, his hands up. "Just calm down, Andy..."

He tugged on Duck, making Lee stop in his tracks. "Calm down? What for, huh? All that we wanted was some damn gasoline!"

Marianne and Travis flinched as someone shot at Andy, hitting his left ear. They both looked and saw that Ben and Carley had made it back to the dairy. Travis called out, "Ben!"

Ben ran over to them, worry etched across his face. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

He handed Marianne to him. "Just take her!" He pulled the gun out from his pocket and aimed at Andy, who was turning on the generator. He pulled the trigger.

_Click. Click. Click._

"Dammit!" He cursed. Of course they would've emptied the gun, what else would they do?

They all watched as Andy dragged Lee to the activated fence. The three students walked back to where the group was. "Carley, lass!" Marianne called out.

"What?"

"Can ye no' shoot him again?"

"Out of ammo!"

She sighed and slapped her leg in frustration. It was moments like these where she felt useless, despite that nothing could really be done. Carley was out of ammo, so was Travis. Aside from the gun Andy had been using and Marianne's hatchet, there were no weapons that they could use.

"Lilly!" Lee shouted.

Lilly raised her gun and shot Andy in his shoulder, causing him to fall back. Lee, filled with rage, straddled Andy's chest and proceeded to punch him, not seeming to let up.

She shook her head and closed her eyes. _**Where did yesterday go?**_ She thought. _**Where did our small group go? Where did our safety go? Where did our**_ **sanity _go?_**

She could barely hear Lee's shouting over the thundering of the storm. She didn't know what he was yelling or why he was yelling, but she didn't want to hear any of it. She just wanted all of it to end, wanted to go back home, back to the motor inn, anywhere that could get them away from this hell-hole.

After what felt like an eternity, Marianne finally felt Ben starting to walk and she breathed a sigh of relief. _**Thank you...**_

/ / /

They had walked in silence for several minutes. The storm had died down a while ago and all that was really heard was the calm rumbling of thunder. Marianne shifted in Ben's grasp. "Ah can walk, now, Benjamin." She said.

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

She quietly nodded and he stopped walking, gently setting her down on her feet. When she stumbled he reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away. "Ahm fine, ye big oaf! Ahm just... A wee bit shaken, is all."

Taking her time to steady herself Marianne took deep breaths, wiping her long red hair out of her face. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago that dairy seemed so welcoming and safe and then it turned into a haven from hell itself. Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, she began to walk down the muddy path, Ben and Travis staying close beside her.

"W-what did they do to you?" Ben asked her.

Marianne sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Ah really dinnae want t' talk about it, right now..."

"Oh..."

Lee suddenly pulled back so he was walking with the three of them. "How are you three holding up?"

When they didn't respond he pressed on. "Maria, you didn't look to well back at the Dairy and you still don't look too good..."

"Neither do ye, Lee." She snapped at him.

"I'm serious, Maria. You had Travis and Ben carrying you, you've got a wounded ear and blood coming out of your mouth."

As if on cue, Marianne spit out a wad of blood and she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "Alright, look, how about ye get someone t' shoot ye in th' ear then punch yer jaw twice, then walk oot where it's cauld an' be all drookit from th' rain, _then_ ye can ask me how Ah feel."

"Sorry..." Lee apologized.

She sighed again. "Naw, Ah should be sorry. Ah just went through a lot, an I just need t' be left alone, right now. Once we get back to th' Inn, Ah will be fine."

Lee shrugged. "Alright, then..." She was a strong girl, he knew, but there was only so much that one could take, especially when they're at such a young age. She also had friends to support her if she started to cave in under the pressure. "Come on, Clementine. Stay close."

"Lee? Are those bad people dead?" She asked.

Lee stopped walking and knelt down in front of Clementine.

Marianne shook her head. Clementine was such a young girl, she thought, and yet she was able to stay strong. Lee was helping her, most certainly, but she doubted that just any child would be able to see the things she has and still feel the strength to move on.

"Dad." Duck said. "What's that noise?"

Everyone slowed as a distant sound of ringing could be heard. Kenny stopped walking and listened. "Sounds like a car..."

"Oh, god, not more strangers..."

With Lee in the front, they all slowly approached the vehicle. The lights were on and the doors were left ajar. _**It's been abandoned recently...**_

Lee leaned in and pulled the keys out, stopping the _dinging_.

Kenny walked to the back of the car, looking in. His eyes widened. "Oh, crap..."

Everyone's attention turned to Kenny. "Katjaa, sweetheart, you need to see this! There's a shit-load of food and supplies back here!"

Katjaa, upon looking in to the car herself, looked back at everyone. "This food could save all of us!"

Lilly looked away. "Not _all_ of us..."

Kenny glared at her and shook his head. Marianne looked to Travis, who just shrugged.

"Look, we don't know if these people are dead or not." Ben said.

"Yeah," Marianne agreed with him. "Th' people might be oot an' looking fer help!"

"This stuff isn't ours..." Clementine chimed in, shuffling her feet.

"Dad, who's car is this?"

Kenny wrapped an arm around his son. "Don't worry Duck, it's abandoned..."

"What if it's not?"

Everyone looked to Clementine. "What if it's not abandoned?" She continued. "What if it _is_ someone's?"

Lee, after careful consideration, walked to Clementine. "You're right, we shouldn't take this."

"What?!" Kenny snapped at Lee, looking incredulous. "Did you get some meal that the rest of us missed out on? We _have_ to take this stuff!"

Lilly finally spoke up. "Look, if we take this and the people come back, the we're nothing more than monsters that came and ruined their lives."

Lee nodded in agreement. "My thoughts exactly."

Kenny glared at Lee and held out his hand. "Then the rest of us are taking this stuff."

Reluctantly, Lee handed Kenny the keys to the car and he opened the back up. Marianne shook her head and stood beside Lee and Clementine, where Travis followed close behind her. "Ah got a bad feeling about this..." She muttered.

"Me too..." Clementine agreed.


	4. Losing Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I think I may have failed to mention in my previous chapters that there's A LOT of Scottish vocabulary, slang and jargon in this story so if you're confused about something you can easily look it up. ^_^

"IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASIER OUT ON THE ROAD!"

Marianne quickly sat up, startled by the sudden shout. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her small room. It was getting getting dark, so she must have slept in quite a fair bit.

"How do you know...?"

"WHAT I KNOW? I know you're not above murder! I know there's somebody that's been stealing our supplies!"

Marianne got up from her bed and stretched out her limbs, putting her backpack over her shoulder. _**I swear, if Kenneth was the one who started her outburst...**_

"That's right, STEALING! And I know that the list of people I can trust gets smaller every day!"

She left her room and leaned against the railing, looking across the motor inn. Ben was on watch, Clementine was off drawing, Travis was playing cards with Duck. She saw that Carley, Kenny, Lee and Katjaa had all gathered at Lilly's room. _**Probably heard them yelling...**_ She thought.

"Now everybody _get out_!"

Everyone left Lilly's room with tense looks on their faces. Lee just shrugged and crossed his arms, saying something to Kenny, who shook his head. "All I know is," he said with a loud voice, "when this shit happens, _I'm_ the fucking bad guy!" He turned around and left Lee and the group. "All I would like is a 'thank you' for once. FOR ONCE!"

Marianne sighed. "Ye know, Kenneth, maybe ye would get a 'thank ye' if ye would stop bein' so rude!"

Kenny looked up at her and glared. "How the hell were you able to hear that?"

"Ah may be part deaf, Kenneth, but tha' does no' mean Ah cannae hear ye when yer hollarin' at th' top o' yer voice when yer _almost directly below me_!" She shouted. Taking a deep breath she walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes again.

It had been almost two weeks since the incident at the dairy and life had been a living nightmare for the group. Lilly was on edge, Kenny wasn't any better. The food they had taken from the car was starting to become limited, the bandits were constantly attacking them and now apparently there was a thief on the loose.

About two days after they had gotten back from the dairy, Lee and Carley both went back to see if there were any supplies left over. They came back with a load of medical supplies and weapons, something that they all needed (some more than others). They were able to properly stitch up Kenny's wounds and they patched up Marianne's ear. Some of her hearing was starting to come back in her right ear but her partial deafness could still cause some minor communication problems. The worst was during the first week after the dairy; she hadn't been paying close attention when she went out with Carley and Lee for supplies and she had nearly gotten bitten by a Chomper... Again.

Marianne rubbed her forearm, remembering when she had first been bitten. It was when they were hiding out in the gym, when Jenny had committed suicide. She had heard a scream coming from the girls room and she ran, finding a reanimated Jenny chomping onto her friend, Maxine. In a panic, Marianne had pulled the Chomper off of her which, in turn, caused her to get bitten. The group of high school students really didn't know what to do with two bite victims and they decided to wait it out. She and Maxine knew better.

She still didn't understand how she didn't turn and Maxine did; they were both bitten by the same Chomper and yet they both got different results. The only thing that Marianne went through was a fever that lasted for about a week. Then, nothing. It was as if she was never bitten in the first place. She was a 'walking miracle', as David had put it.

"Hey, Maria?"

Marianne looked up at Carley, who looked almost confused. "You okay? You've been standing there for a couple of minutes..."

"Ahm fine, Carley; just a wee bit tired." She replied.

After a moment Carley shrugged and walked up the stairs, leaving Marianne back to her own thoughts. She didn't really know if she was infected or not. Well, technically they all were, but she didn't know if the bite had _activated_ the infection or not, if it was slowly killing her or if it wasn't even there but either way, she was treasuring each and every breath she took. She never knew if it would be her last.

She grabbed the Cross around her neck, rubbing her thumb across the silver. The memories that the Cross brought her would often pain her, seeing that she wouldn't be able to see her family again. Marianne didn't know if her family was dead, if they were one of the Chompers. She didn't know that, if they _were_ alive, if they would try to find her. On the verge of tears, Marianne took a deep breath and repeated a verse;

_'Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. -Psalms 55:22'_

That was the verse she had used for her Baptism. Marianne was a God fearing girl, but even then she could still have pains and struggles. "No human is ever perfect," she had said.

"Hey, Maria?"

Marianne sniffled, wiping a tear that had just fallen down her cheek. "Aye, Travis, what is it?"

He put his hands in his pockets. "You've just been standing here for a little while; you okay?"

She shrugged, letting go of the Cross. "Just takin' a wee stroll down memory lane, is all."

"Before all," he gestured around them, " _this_ happened?"

"Aye, ye could say tha'."

A brief pause, and then, "How can you believe in that?"

She blinked, cocking her head to the side. "Hoot now?"

Travis gestured to Marianne's cross. "That? With everything that's been happening, how can you still believe in something like that? And don't go and use that 'He always has a plan' stuff."

This took Marianne completely by surprise. Travis had never been so forward with her about her religion, before, and she wasn't prepared for his sudden question. She quickly gathered her thoughts. "Well, Ah dinnae know why yer suddenly interested in this discussion."

Travis sighed and shook his head. "Look, Maria, how can there be an 'all loving God' when the dead are walking on the Earth? How can an 'all loving God' let this happen, let so many people die and let so many people suffer. He has let so many people die-"

Marianne held up a hand. "Ahm gonna stop ye right there, Travis." She jabbed a finger at him. "The Lord does nae' let 'bad things' happen! The Lord is nothing but good an' gracious! God wants nothing but good things fer people, Sin is th' thing tha' gets in th' way o' His plans!"

Travis, once again, gestured around them. "So, tell me, did 'sin' make this happen, Maria? Did 'sin' make the dead walk?!"

She shook her head, displeased with how the conversation had turned. "Ah dinnae have an answer fer ye, Travis, because Ah cannae answer tha' question." And she was honest, she didn't have an answer. Some questions often required someone with a little more knowledge of the Bible and Christ, but even then most questions could never be answered. Sometimes it was best if some questions _weren't_ answered.

"That's what I thought." Travis scoffed at her.

Despite the anger that filled Marianne at his statement, she remained as calm as she could. Taking a breath, she fixed a deathly glare at Travis. "Ye listen here, an' ye listen well; Ben an' Ah are alive, yer alive," she rapidly rolled up her sleeve, exposing the bite mark, "this has no' made me into a Chomper. We could have died oot in the woods, but we were found by Lee. Brenda or Andy could have shot me, but Ah was spared. What ye got t' say about that?"

Travis scoffed again, taking his hands out from his pockets and crossing his arms. "God has one hell of a sense of humour."

He walked past her and up the stairs, presumably to go to his room. Marianne shook her head, upset over the conversation that had just taken place between she and her friend. They had been best friends for nearly five years and never once had they had a fight or argument. He respected her beliefs and she didn't try to force them or even discuss them with him. Under normal circumstances, if things were turning sour then either she or Travis would try and change the subject or approach topics in a different way. Then again, these weren't normal circumstances.

Surviving in a world where the Dead ruled and the Living were everyone's worst possible nightmares, nearly starving, no hope of staying warm during the Winter, thieves and thugs on their tails, stress and mistrust was a constant and you were more than lucky to even see the light of the next day. These were anything _but_ normal circumstances. Although Marianne understood Travis and his questioning her religion, he still did not have the right or the reason to act in such a manner.

She lightly tapped her foot in irritation. "Bloody little scunner..." She cursed.

"Something up, Maria?"

She looked up to Lee. "Ah was just about t' go an' gather some arrows." She replied, quickly avoiding another conversation with another person. Marianne walked past Lee, which earned a confused look from him.

Marianne pulled roughly on one of the dumpsters, causing it to grind harshly against the ground. She squeezed in between them and started pulling arrows out from the boards. When the bandits had first attacked the group, they were completely unprepared. Everyone had to dive behind some sort of cover before they ended up with arrows in their skulls. One of the bandits had gotten stupid and he came out from behind cover and was shot by Lilly. Some time after the attack was over Marianne had decided to go and search the body in case the bandit had something of worth on him. All he had was a crossbow but that was a score for Marianne as she had preferred to work with crossbows compared to using a gun. After the first attack Lilly had said that they needed to fortify the wall so they would have better cover to go behind and this helped Marianne to get arrows more easily for the crossbow. Of course, Lilly had confiscated the weapon and she would confiscate any arrows Marianne would gather but at least she had a weapon to use.

Some rustling could be heard and Marianne stopped dead in her tracks, looking out to the bush. Her eyes darted across the edge of the coloured forest, scanning for any signs of life (or death, in this case). Seeing none, she resumed her work.

Her hands eventually became full and she squeezed in between the dumpsters, pushing them back into place. She walked to Lilly's room to 'deposit' the arrows.

"-mess but I'm not stupid, I know what happens if I start a witch hunt."

"So you want _me_ to start one?"

Marianne had gently kicked the door so there was no way of stopping it from opening and she cringed as it squeaked.

"How long have you been standing there?!"

Marianne, slowly, poked her head in the door and smiled nervously. "Ah was no' there fer long..."

Lilly eyed up the pile of arrows that Marianne carried and sighed. "Look, you're fine, just put the arrows on the bed."

Closing the door behind her, Marianne cautiously placed the arrows on the bed behind Lilly and then quickly left the room, closing the door behind her. Whatever mess Lee was getting into, she wanted no part of it.

Marianne decided to go an talk to Clementine, who appeared to be drawing another picture. She approached Clementine and sat down across from her, taking off her backpack and setting it down. "What ye doing, lass?"

"It's called a 'leaf rubbing' - my art teacher taught us how to do it when we went to the botanical gardens!"

Marianne leaned forward to get a better look at the drawing. "Now tha' is truly something!" She exclaimed. "Ye got quite th' talent, Clementine."

"Thanks."

She continued to watch Clementine work on her leaf rubbing, watching as the shape of the leaf came into view. So many veins, she thought, so many lines and bumps and edges. It was amazing how much detail there was in a single leaf. From far away, they looked like almost nothing but a jagged shape, but once you got a closer look, you could see there was a lot more to the leaf than what meets the eye. Almost like people, in a sense. From a distance, they look like just about anyone and everyone. Even up close they didn't look much different. It wasn't until you really got to know the person that you actually understood more about them and who they were, what they did, why they talked or acted in such a specific way. However, you would never know until you actually took the time to know.

_**Since when could a leaf give you such a philosophical lesson?** _

"Hey, girls."

They both looked up at Lee. "Hey, Lee!" Clementine said.

"Did either of you happen to accidentally break a flashlight at all? You're not in trouble if you did."

Marianne shook her head along with Clementine, who asked Lee, "No. Did Duck say that I did?"

"No, did Duck break the flashlight?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. He's just always blaming me for stuff."

"Like what?"

"Putting a bug on his pillow..."

"Did you do it?" Lee asked her.

A small grin spread across Clementine's lips. "Yes."

Marianne snorted and covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. She could give some people quite a laugh, sometimes.

Lee's demeanor suddenly turned serious. "Hey, uh, Maria? Can I talk to you for a minute? Privately."

Marianne cleared her throat and stood up, straightening out her jacket and crossing her arms. Lee took her off to the side. "Is there somethin' wrong?"

Lee looked almost hesitant to speak to her, which concerned her. He was never hesitant when speaking. _Never_. "Listen, there's something I need to tell you about myself. Before all of this started, I was on my way to prison."

He was direct, which was good. No beating around the bush. However, it went completely over her head. "Aye, there was probably more than a few lads off t' th' slammer before this."

Lee suppressed a sigh. "I was on my way to prison because I had murdered someone, before all of this started."

Marianne's eyes widened at his words and her arms fell to her sides. "Hoot now?"

Lee stood there and stared, not understanding what she said. Marianne decided not to bother with explaining it. "Well, Ahm glad ye told me, Lee. Ye did no' have any obligation t', but ye did, an' Ah thank ye fer tha'."

Lee nodded, clearing his throat. "Thanks for, you know, understanding and not... Freaking out."

She shrugged. "No problem. Now, oan yer trolley."

Lee, once again, fixed a blank stare on her and she sighed. "Off ye go, Lee."

He nodded and left her alone with Clementine, who quickly resumed her leaf rubbing. Marianne assumed, hoped, that Lee had told the girl, at some point. She sat back down and watched Clementine work on her picture.

"Would you like to try it?" She asked, looking up at Marianne with big eyes. "I've got more leaves!"

Marianne was about to say no but after staring into Clementine's eyes, she couldn't help herself. "Ah may no' be quite as good as ye, Clementine, but Ah can give it a shot."

Clementine smiled and handed Marianne a piece of paper, a leaf and a pencil. "It's really easy!" She exclaimed.

/ / /

Marianne didn't have an affinity for the visual arts, but she had to admit, the leaf rubbing was better than she had previously anticipated.

"Yours looks really nice!" Said Clementine. This made Marianne chuckle.

"Ye think so?"

"Yeah!"

Marianne smiled at the young girl. It was good that Clementine was able to find a small amount of joy in these darker times. Clementine suddenly handed her leaf rubbing to Marianne. "Here, you can have this one!"

"Och, ye should keep it, Clementine-"

"I want you to have this one."

One look at her big, soft eyes and Marianne, once again, caved in. Taking the picture she looked at it and smiled. "Ah will put this in my pack fer safe keepin'. Thank ye, Clementine."

She barely had gotten it into her back pack when suddenly there was a shout. "YOU DON'T FUCKING STEAL FROM US!"

Marianne's head was snapped back as someone grabbed her hair. "Get up!"

She stood and she was lead over to where Carley, Ken, Katjaa, Duck, Ben and Travis were kneeling. _**Where is Lilly and Lee?**_ She was forced onto her knees beside Travis, who gave her an angry glance. "So where were ye, then, Travis?"

Someone hit the back of her head with a gun. "Shut up!" He snapped at her.

"YOU JUST MADE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIVES!"

Everyone cast worried glances at one another, wanting to say calming words but not wanting to get shot.

"Hold it there, asshole!"

"Take it easy..."

Marianne was relieved to see Lee, unharmed. "Why the hell are you doing this?" He asked. "Just leave us all alone!"

"WHY?! Because we oughta, that's why!" The bandit yelled at him.

"What will it take to reach a deal?" Lee asked, slowly approaching the bandits.

"About _twice_ as much as you've been giving us!"

"You got it, done!"

"Is that so?" The bandit lowered his gun, thinking about the deal. He then agreed. "Well alright, but I suppose we oughta hash out some terms."

"I don't like no hash!" The bandit beside him said.

"Man, shut up, or I'll-"

The bandit was cut off as a gunshot rang out. The bandit fell dead beside Marianne, a bullet wound in his head. "CHRIST!" A bandit exclaimed.

Everyone took this as an opportunity to run and hide, so Marianne made a beeline for her pack and then straight into Lilly's room. She quickly grabbed the crossbow underneath Lilly's bed and then loaded it up with one arrow. Marianne put the rest in her pack and ran back outside. She heard a sharp whistle as she dove behind the overturned skid, which rested against two barrels, right beside Ben and Carley.

Ben, for whatever reason, suddenly ran out in an attempt to get behind the RV but skidded as someone shot at him. He dove back and crawled back behind the skid. Marianne slapped the back of his head. "What'd ye go an' do that fer, ye wanker?!" She asked him.

"I thought I could make it but there are a lot more bandits than I thought..."

Marianne took a quick peek over the top of the skid and fired an arrow, also finding that Ben was right; there _were_ a lot more bandits! This wasn't like their normal attacks; they had walls down, the gates opened, guns firing from inside and outside the Motor Inn. This wasn't an attack; this was a full on _raid_.

Marianne ducked down as a bullet cracked the wood beside her head. "Where the hell did you get that?!" Carley asked her, pointing to the crossbow.

"No' important!" She said, loading another arrow into the crossbow.

Marianne looked to the RV to see that he was busy covering Katjaa, Duck and Travis. She looked back to Ben and Carley. "Listen, Ahm gonna cover ye an' when Ah tell ye t' run, ye make a beeline fer the RV!"

"WHAT?!" Ben shouted, obviously not please with the idea.

Marianne took a breath. "GO!" She stood and paused before firing the arrow, making sure the bandit's eyes were on her. She fired, nailing a bandit right in his head.

She did a double take. _**That is not a bandit...**_

The body that dropped was, indeed, not a bandit. The flesh was decayed and the blood that stained the ground was dark, almost black. The Chompers had heard all of the commotion and were getting into the Motor Inn!

Another bullet hit the skid and she ducked back down. "MARIA!" Lee shouted at her. "Get moving!"

Nodding, she tightened the zipper on her pack and slung it across her shoulder and dashing for the RV, skidding as a bullet landed by her feet. Once she was in front of the door she was pulled in by Travis, who smacked her arm. "Why did you do that? You could've killed yourself!" He snapped at her.

She didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer and just sat down on the seat between Ben and Carley, crossing her arms.

"LILLY! Get in the RV!" Lee shouted.

"Screw her!" Said Kenny as he jumped into the RV. "Let her stay!"

"LEE! Walkers!" Carley shouted at him, firing her own gun.

Marianne plugged her one ear, seeing that the other one was still bandaged and she could barely hear anything from it anyways. She never really liked guns; they were always so loud!

In a few moments the RV was suddenly moving and she reached out to steady herself. "Is everyone here?!" Lee called out.

"Katjaa, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!"

Ben had his head in his hands, a string of curses flowing from his mouth. He regained his composure and sat back up. "I'm sorry..." He said.

"Everything is fine, Ben." Carley tried to reassure him.

"Everything is _not_ fine!" Lilly snapped at her. "We need to figure out why this happened. We just lost _everything_!"

"Well, we're lucky as shit to have this RV!"

"And nobody died." Carley added in.

"Kat's head is split open!" Kenny snapped.

"Somebody in this RV caused this." Lilly said, a menacing tone in her voice.

"Settle down, back there!" Kenny shouted. "The bandits have had our number for weeks!"

Lilly shook her head. "No, this was different. Somebody in here was working with the bandits; whoever it was was slipping them our meds. They didn't get their last package, so they attacked."

"Calm down, back there; that's just crazy!"

"Lee found a bag hidden outside the wall."

Lee almost looked remorseful as he nodded his head. "It's true."

Lilly seemed to have a satisfied smirk at Lee's confirmation. "So," she turned her head to Marianne. " _Maria_ ; is there something you want to say?"

Marianne's blood boiled at Lilly's accusation. "Aye, Ah got something t' say; yer a hackit!"

She leaned down towards her. "So, we'll have to force it out of you, then."

"Back off, yer just paranoid!"

Lilly snapped at her. "You are in _no_ position to make demands!"

Marianne did not like where this was headed. Lilly was already a paranoid woman, but this situation just made it worse. She had enough evidence to say that there was someone working from the inside, but not enough to say who it was. That would make things a lot worse if the situation wasn't defused right away. "Now, ye just hold oan! Yer just pointing fingers at people; what evidence do ye have?!"

Lee quickly interjected. "Maria is a trustworthy girl, Lilly! She can't be a traitor! Think about her religion; she wouldn't be one to lie."

"Thank ye, Lee!"

Lilly was having none of what Lee was saying to here. "Maria is a strong girl, she can fight her own battles." She crossed her arms. "Unless, of course, there's something that implicates the both of you."

"Don't you be ridiculous, Lilly!" Carley said. "Neither of them could have done it!"

"Look, maybe we should just vote!"

Lilly turned around and fixed a menacing glare on Travis. "What?"

"Look, I can tell you from experience that Maria is a stand-up girl. Maybe this was all a simple mistake or misunderstanding." Travis tried to reason with the woman.

"Look, Lilly," Lee said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "we should just let it go. People _do_ make mistakes and yeah, this one is a huge fucking doozy, but we can't let it get to us."

"Then what do we NOT forgive? Seriously; Kenny can kill my dad, Maria can steal from us." She hit the wall of the RV with her fist. "Where's the line?!"

Despite her anger Marianne was shocked at Lilly's words. _**Kenny killed her father? When? Why; what did the man do?!**_

"Look, nobody was stealing anything!" Ben said.

"Yeah, Lilly, just lay off of Maria! What did she do to you to deserve this?!" Travis yelled at her.

Lilly considered all of them for a moment. "Was it all three of you?"

"WHAT?!" They shouted in unison.

"I've seen you three together; was it _all of you_?! You all would've had enough time to slip out and deliver the meds."

Ben was beginning to panic. "Look, just let me out. I didn't do it, but I really don't like this! I don't like where it's headed!"

Lilly leaned down, staring menacingly at Ben. "Then look me in the eyes and tell me it wasn't you!"

"Lilly, just leave Benjamin alone!" Marianne hissed.

Ben seemed to be at ends with himself, looking almost conflicted as Lilly stared him down. Marianne wasn't sure why he looked so nervous, aside from the obvious of course. Unless he _did_ have something to do with it, then there wasn't really anything he should be worried about.

Ben stared right back into her eyes. "I-"

The RV suddenly lurched forward, making everyone grab something to hold them up. "SHIT!" Kenny cursed.

"What's going on, up there?"

"I hit something," Kenny looked back to the group. "We gotta stop!"

Lilly looked please with their current situation. "Well, we can deal with this _now_ then."

Kenny pulled the RV over and turned it off. The lack of noise was making Marianne extremely nervous. Lilly, at this point, was a broken woman; her father murdered, someone stealing from the supplies, and then the raid happened. One thing that Marianne knew for certain was that broken people could get reckless.

"Everyone out!"

Lee stepped in front of her, placing a gentle hand on her arm. "Lilly..."

"OUT!" She shoved past him and went outside the RV, everyone followed right behind her. Clamentine stood right inside the door with Lee sstanding close to it, just in case he needed to protect her. Carley just stood off to the side of the road by the ditch and Marianne placed herself right beside her. Ben was as close to the door as possible and Travis planted himself in between his friends, arms crossed and a face that said 'you mess with me, I bite your face off!'. She had never seen Travis so angry in her life, even when being accused. Well, if his friends were accused of something he knew they wouldn't do, then he could get very defensive; he once had gotten suspended from school because of his bullheadedness. If he decided to act up now, with Lilly acting so out-of-control, he might just end up getting hurt.

"Kenny, the RV has some surface damage, but there's a Walker trapped underneath."

Kenny knelt down to inspect the Walker. "God dammit..." He cursed. "Everyone, keep your eyes peeled!"

Lilly stood beside Lee, but closer to the door so nobody would try to get back in. She was hell-bent on finding out whoever gave the bandits supplies. "You know what, we shouldn't just kick you all out; we should hear what everyone thinks."

"I think you should chill out!" Ben said.

Travis agreed with his friend. "Yeah, there's no need for all of this bullshit."

"Aye, tha' Ah agree with." Marianne said. "Listen, they can fight their own battles, but ye cannae push me around so easily!"

Lilly crossed her arms. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. But now I'm really thinking it _was_ all three of you!"

"No way!" Lee exclaimed. "It had to have been somebody else! There's no way that Maria did it! It could've easily been someone sneaking into our camp."

Lilly shook her head at Lee, obviously not buying it. "That's just crazy; _that's_ what you think?"

"Yes."

"Okay fine, then; Kenny?"

Kenny looked up from under the RV. "I dunno... Fuck! Just... Stop it, would you?! I'm busy!"

"Well your vote counts for both you _and_ Katjaa!"

Marianne finally lost it. It was one thing to be accused of stealing, but it was another thing to have her friends accused when she knew they were innocent. "We dinnae need all of these votes! Whit do Ah have tae do fer ye tae trust me?!" She shouted, her brogue becoming thicker and vocabulary becoming less discernible the more she panicked.

"Maria!" Lee shouted at her. "Stop panicking! You're only making it worse."

"Nae, ye stop flappin', ye bampot!" She shouted back, voice cracking.

Lilly shook her head and pointed at Marianne. "Do we need any more evidence than _this_?!"

"Lay off of her, Lilly! She's broken, what more do you want?!" Carley snapped at the woman.

"Shut up Carley! I've heard enough out of you!" She looked back to the fron of the RV. "Kenny! What's it going to be?"

"Just gimme a damn minute!"

"Marianne..."

Marianne's blood froze and she flinched as Lilly said her full name. Nobody had ever said her full name except for her mother, and she wasn't kidding when she said that people would be seeing her running the opposite direction when her mother did use her full name. This time, though, it wasn't her mother. It was a very pissed off, itching-to-kill-someone, paranoid and nearly psychopathic Lilly. "You have until that Walker is dealt with to tell me it was _Ben_ and not YOU!"

"Stop this, Lilly!" Carley said. "You're torturing her!"

"Nae, I did nae do it!"

"MARIANNE!"

"Stop!"

"I did it!"

Everyone stopped and looked at Lee with shocked expressions. He crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm the one who slipped the supplies to the bandits. _That_ get you to lay off of her?"

Lilly contemplated his words but shook her head. "No. You can be a real piece of shit, Lee, but I know it wasn't you. You wouldn't do that." She then looked to Clementine. "Not with _her_ in your life."

Everyone heard a small grunt as Kenny pulled the Walker from under the RV. "Can we _please_ just get back in the RV" Ben begged Lilly.

"That is _not_ happening!"

Marianne finally had had enough of this. She was terrified of the woman, granted, but she would never stand for Lilly pushing her friends and anyone else around. It was about time someone other than Kenny took a stand against her. "Now, ye listen..." Marianne started. "An' ye listen well, Lilly."

Lilly fixed a deathly glare on her and she flinched, but did not falter. "Ye may think yer some tough lass, Lilly, but yer nothing more than a feart wean who cannae stand it when ye get put down. An' ye know what? Nobody gives a flying fack!"

Travis suddenly put his hand on Marianne's arm. Never once had he heard her curse so strongly. She was really beginning to lose it. "Maria..."

She shook his hand off. "How's about ye try an' take a look into Lee's book an' actually try _helping_ people fer a change!?"

A loud _crack_ was heard and Kenny gave a satisfied huff. "There!"

Everyone's attention was turned to Kenny, so nobody was able to see Lilly reach behind her.

"Now, what the fuck's the problem?"

"Maria!" Clementine shouted.

Travis suddenly grabbed Marianne's arms and spun her around, pulling her away from her previous spot. For a brief moment, their eyes met and Marianne saw the most saddest expressions she had ever seen. A gun shot rang out, blood splattered across Marianne, and then Travis fell over onto the grass.

Blood poured from the bullet wound on his head, staining the ground. Marianne's breathing became shallow and her hands began to shake. "T-Travis?..." She said, her voice suddenly hoarse.

She knelt down beside his body and lifted him up, brushing back his hair. "Travis? Please, Travis!"

His eyes, open, yet void of life. Bleeding, not breathing, completely motionless. He couldn't be dead. He _couldn't_ be!

Marianne pressed her head against Travis's and her shoulders began to shake vigorously, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Come oan! Travis, please... Can ye hear me?" Her words soon became indistinguishable as she began to sob heavily.

The words spoken from the others flew completely past her. She didn't really care what they said, all she cared about was that her friend, her best friend, lay dead in her hands. Bitterness and anger filled her heart as a name flew through Marianne's brain.

"Get in, we'll figure out what to do with you."

"She's a murderer, Lee!"

_**Lilly...** _

" _I'm_ a murderer?! You've had Lee with you this whole time!"

Closing his eyes, Marianne gently set Travis back down and stood. "Ye know, Lilly..."

Everyone was suddenly quiet as she spoke. Turning around, she wiped the tears off from her cheek. "There has been... A lot of things... Tha' Ah have forgiven in my life..."

"Maria..." She snapped at Lee. "Shut yer geggie an' let me speak!"

She took a deep breath and continued. "Ah forgave my sister when she lied t' me... Ah forgave my maw when she had hit me... Ah even forgave my da when he had t' put th' family dog down..." She took threatening steps towards Lilly. " _This_... Ah cannae _ever_ forgive!"

Without warning Marianne's fist flung towards Lilly, delivering a strong punch to her jaw. Lee quickly restrained her, pinning her arms behind her back. Marianne struggled against him, spouting curses. "Ye murdered him, ye hoor! Ye bloody scunner! Ah will see tae it tha' ye suffer!"

Lee continued to restrain her as she struggled and cursed at Lilly. She eventually slipped into some other language as she started to calm down, muttering words he couldn't understand. "Ye murdered him..."

Marianne fell to her knees and Lee released his grip on her. Once again, Marianne broke down into sobs, not bothering to muffle them. "Ben... Help Maria into the RV..."

"Sure..."

Marianne was lifted and taken into the RV, where she was placed on the couch. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head against the wall, the tears not wanting to stop. She had lost her best friend, one of the only people who she could truly trust. He was dead. There was no way of bringing him back.

Eventually, her tears dried and nothing but small whimpers could be heard from Marianne as she continued to huddle on the couch. Soon, her breathing slowed, her whimpers stopped, and her eyes remained closed as she was pulled into a deep sleep.


	5. Hanging Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was just a bit shorter because I hadn't updated it for so long on FFN, so, yeah, sorry about that.

She felt something moving her, _touching_ her, really. A hand on her arm, shaking her. Reflexively, Marianne snatched the wrist of whoever was grabbing her and twisted, not enough to hurt them but enough to warn them she meant business.

"OW! Maria, it's just me!"

She opened her eyes and looked around. Still in the RV, Lilly was still alive and Travis... was gone. Marianne released a deep sigh and released Ben's wrist, sitting herself up.

"We had to stop and Kenny wants everyone out of the RV..." He said quietly, his eyes darting over to where Lilly sat.

Marianne rubbed at her eyes, the horrors from the previous evening flooding back to her. The blood from when Travis had been shot was still on her hand, her clothes, she could even feel the itching sensation of dried blood on her face. All because of a missed shot. All because Travis had saved her, sacrificed himself. She waved her hand at him. "Ah will be oot in a wee moment, Ben. Just allow me a few moments."

Ben's face turned grim, a bad feeling settling in his gut. "Alright."

Marianne waited until he had completely left the RV and she took a deep breath, sitting up straight on the couch. She rooted through her pack before pulling out her Bible, tossing it onto the table in front of Lilly. The sound of the thick book slamming onto the table made Lilly jump.

"Do ye know wha' this is?" Marianne asked her, placing herself across from Lilly.

Lilly didn't respond, she didn't even dare to look at her. Marianne couldn't tell if it was because of guilt, shame, or fear.

"Ye did nae lose yer voice, answer my question."

"It's a bible." Lilly answered, her voice hoarse and quiet.

"Do ye know wha' this has taught me?" Marianne asked. "Many things. It taught me how to forgive, to love those who wrong ye."

Marianne leaned in and sighed. "Wot ye did last night, lass, was one of th' most despicable things anyone can do. However, Ah also understand tha' ye were on th' edge; ye lost yer father t' the St. Johns-"

" _Not_ them. They didn't kill him..."

This took Marianne by surprise. She remembered when they were walking back to the motor inn and the comment she made to Kenny when he had said something about the food saving everyone. She just thought that Kenny was annoyed with her attitude. However, the comment she also made the previous day at the motor inn about Ken not being above murder, that was the only thing that set something off in her head. "Hoot now?"

Lilly swallowed a lump in her throat. "Kenny... killed him."

At first, Marianne was shocked. Then confused. Then angry. She didn't know what to say, her thoughts running a hundred miles a minute. If Lilly was telling the truth, if what she said the previous evening wasn't just some angry spout, then that would explain a lot of things; her continuing rivalry with Kenny, being constantly on edge and practically a ticking bomb. It especially explained the little 'exchange' between her and Kenny back at the abandoned car. "Dear Lord... Ah know what ye' said last night, lass, but Ahm praying tha' he did no' outright murder th' man..."

Lily sniffled and tears started forming in her eyes. "He had a heart attack... then Kenny... said we needed to destroy the brain..."

Marianne could hardly believe what she was hearing; Kenny, despite that he was a hot head and quite frankly, a dick, she never would've expected him to do such a thing.

"Lee tried to help me but, Kenny, he just-"

She sighed and placed a gentle hand on Lilly's, attempting to calm the woman down. "If wot ye say is indeed true, then ye have every right to be oot there," she pointed to the exit of the RV. "With everyone else like he is, an' no' tied up like some animal in here."

Lilly scoffed, then. "Tell that to everyone else."

"Ah will, an' yer comin' with me, lass."

"What the fuck are you still doing in here?! I said everyone _out_ of the RV!"

Marianne suppressed a groan of annoyance. Instead, she stood with her back pack over her shoulder and her Bible in hand, inviting Lilly to stand up. "None o' yer business, Kenneth!"

Kenny stood in the doorway, blocking anyone who wanted to get in or out. "After what she did last night, I'm surprised you're anywhere near her; she's a fucking murderer!"

Marianne's lips curled up in a snarl. "An' from wot Ah heard, yer no' too far off from tha' title as well."

"The hell are you talking about?"

She untied Lilly's wrists and tossed the ropes at Kenny. "Wot happened back a' th' Dairy was nothin' short of murder, Kenneth. Ahm surprised ye did no' end up in ropes yerself!"

"You don't know shit-"

"When someone has a heart attack, they are no' dead! They could even be awake when having a heart attack!" Marianne started to snap. "Instead of offing someone like tha', ye should have given time! But nae, ye just _had_ t' kill th' man! All because ye thought th' worst. It's no wonder tha' Lilly snapped!"

"Kenny, is everything alright over there?" Katjaa called her husband.

"Just fine, honey."

Marianne stepped up to Kenny, her eyes piercing his own in an almost lethal gaze. "Now, yer gonna let me pass with Lilly, or ye may just end up with everyone here knowing wot ye did."

Kenny's eyes narrowed. "Are you threatening me, Marianne?"

"Only my maw can call me Marianne. And nae, us Grace's never threaten," She leaned in so her nose was almost touching his. "We make promises."

Of course, Marianne was only making an empty threat. She wouldn't actually tell the rest of the group what had happened, as it wasn't really her place to say anything about it either. All secrets come out into the open at some point, especially in times like these.

His jaw tightened and he balled his hands into fists, debating whether to hit the girl or to learn to swallow his pride (and his dignity). "If she does _anything_ I don't like, it'll be your neck hanging."

"Ever since this all started, everyone has been waiting at th' Hanging Tree, Kenneth, an' th' noose is already around our necks," Marianne hissed. "All we need, is a wee push."


	6. On The Right Track

Marianne was getting frustrated. They had been sitting around for what felt like ages and there was no news about the train from Ben or Lee. Did the thing even have gas in it? Did trains even need gas? What about the detached wagons? Would the thing even work?

She shrugged and sighed. Even if it did, what good would it do? Trains were loud, how long would it take before a herd of Chompers gets passed by on the tracks?

When she and Lilly had made their way over to the group, Marianne had earned more than a few odd looks from Katjaa, Carley and Clementine. Duck looked like he was just half asleep, so he didn't notice anything. Kenny said nothing, of course, and just sat down beside his wife and child. Once she had sat down, Marianne had started flipping through her Bible to various different verses without bothering to stop.

 _'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.'_ _Matthew 5:4_

Marianne vigorously flipped the pages and to another highlighted verse.

_'The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.' Psalm 34:18_

She flipped a few more pages.

_'Tears are prayers too. They travel to God when we can't speak.' Psalm 56:8_

She then flipped to near the end of her Bible, biting her tongue, hoping the tears would never come.

_'He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.' Revelations 21:4_

None of these were helping her. She had faced loss before, many times before, and these verses had always brought her some form of comfort or reassurance. But no, these weren't helping her at all. Perhaps it was because of the situation she was in, and because of the situation that had happened. The dead are walking, ruling the earth, almost as if Hell decided to unleash its army on earth. The living are to be feared and hated, no longer trusted and loved. She knows that loss is unavoidable in this world, especially now. It hurt. Why did that realization hurt so much?

Someone tapped her shoulder, making her jump in surprise. "Hm, aye?"

It was Carley. "Uh... are you alright? You look a little, I dunno, distant?"

Marianne shrugged, flipping the pages in her Bible. "Peachy."

Silence. Then, "Did you... like him?" She asked in a quiet voice.

She tugged a little hard in turning a page and made a slight rip in it. "Excuse ye?"

Carley immediately regretted her words. Well, no going back now, she thought. "Did you like Travis? I mean, I can understand why you reacted so strongly, but when things were getting ugly back at the Inn, you didn't seem to affected by it..."

Marianne sighed slightly, closing her Bible and setting it in her lap. "Look, Carley; fer one thing, we had tae move when th' Inn got raided. Ah couldn't let it get t' me. Besides, death is a constant here. An' Travis? We had far too much in common for tha', anyhow."

She looked confused.

"We both liked boys, Carley."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh... and you were alright with that?"

She shrugged. "Ah dinnae know, should Ah not have been?" She rolled her eyes. "Aye, it is a sin in God's eyes, but the Bible also says tae love yer neighbour as ye'd love yerself. Ah was no' about tae judge the lad fer his preference."

When Carley said nothing, she continued. "Look, Travis died protecting me. An'... Ah feel so ashamed and so guilty!" The tears started to flow freely from her eyes, and she vigorously tried wiping them away. "We had a wee spat back a' th' Inn. An' we did no' talk to each other after tha'. Tae think that the last words Ah ever spoke to him were harsh and from an argument. Ah want tae say Ahm sorry to him, let him know how much he meant t' me as a brother. But he's gone now, Carley!"

Marianne suddenly brought the woman in for a fierce hug. "Ah just wish tha' Ah could somehow bring him back, but Ah know Ah cannae do tha'. He did no' deserve to die like tha'!"

Carley immediately hugged her back. "Look, Maria, I understand what you're going through..." she hesitated, choosing her next words carefully. "But we need to try and stay strong. You can mourn, but you can't let it effect anyone else."

Marianne sniffled. "Ah know, Carley, Ah know..." With a small sigh she released her grip on the older woman and wiped away the tears that fell down her cheeks. "Sorry..." She quickly apologized.

"No it's fine. We're in a spot where we're, well, not under attack or being chased by Walkers. It's fine."

Suddenly, they heard a loud sound coming from the train and, upon looking, they saw that there was steam coming from the wheels. "Tha' thing actually works!?" Marianne exclaimed.

Kenny stood from the log and took off to the train, a little spring in his step. Marianne, herself, felt a small spark of hope in her chest. If they were able to get the massive machine moving, there was no telling where they could go! They could get somewhere safe! Maybe pass by a nice country area, build up a small community from there.

She then saw Ben coming back from the train and as he got closer to the rest of the group, she saw the look of shock on his face at the sight of Lilly. Out of the RV, with the group (well, not really _with_ the group, more like a few meters away standing against a tree). He quickly handed a box of animal crackers and a bottle of water to Katjaa, who thanked him and tried to get Duck to eat and drink. He then sat on the other side of Marianne. "What is she doing out here?"

It was a legitimate question, she thought. There was no sign of accusation in his voice, so he was genuinely curious. "Ah can learn tae forgive, but never forget, Benjamin." She replied.

As they continued to wait for any signs of the train actually being able to move, Marianne saw a man approaching them. He looked a lot older than anyone else that had been in their group; grey hair and a grey beard. His clothes, composed of a brown coat, dark red undershirt, brown pants and fingerless gloves, were incredibly dirty. And he was also carrying a guitar.

He _seemed_ friendly, but Marianne wasn't about to take any chances. Marianne nudged Carley and, taking the crossbow out of her back pack, she stood and addressed the man. "An' who are ye?"

The man chuckled. He actually just chuckled. Even though he's being threatened. "Don't worry, I ain't gonna jump you. Don't got any weapons on me, anyhow."

Carley stood up. "My name is Carley." She greeted the man. It was odd, Marianne thought, that Carley was already being so trusting towards someone that they didn't even know.

The man gave a small smile. "The name's Chuck. Charles, if you're fancy."

Marianne released a small breath and smiled as well. "Ahm Marianne. But everyone calls me Maria or Mary." She pointed to Ben. "This is my friend, Ben." She then gestured to Lillly. "Tha' woman there is Lilly."

Katjaa nodded politely at the man. "I'm Katjaa. And this is Duck."

Clementine stood up and smiled at Chuck. "And I'm Clementine!"

"Pleased to meet you, Clementine." Chuck smiled down at her.

/ / /

Chuck was an incredibly friendly man. It was very refreshing, all things considering. Normally, when meeting new people, you would often be met with suspicion and threats. But never once did people trust someone so openly.

Well, he was also a bit older and wiser, so maybe he developed that sense of when something is or isn't right.

Of course, they couldn't exactly talk, considering they accepted candy from him. It almost made her chuckle, thinking about that usual statement from parents; _"Don't take treats from strangers!"_.

Chuck was excellent at playing the guitar as well. She thought that he would've been great in the little band she and her friends made.

Sure, they were already in a school band, but she, Ben, Travis and Arvo had made their own little group once. Chuck would've been a great addition; Arvo always said they needed a lead guitarist!

Marianne sighed quietly, remembering Arvo. He had been with the Russian exchange group for their school. When she, Ben and Travis first met him, he was very quiet and shy. But they were eventually able to get at least five words out of him. They all had become really good friends, a 'tight circle', as their teacher called them. One time when they went to his place to hang out and work out their little 'band', they were able to meet his older sister, who went to America with him to make sure he got by alright at school (because of his leg). She was a fine cook, Marianne thought.

Was he alright? Did he manage to get to safety? Did he manage to meet up with some of Natasha's group of friends? Or was he surviving on his own?

Was he even surviving at all?

The sound of a loud _clang_ made them all look up to see that the train had moved! Except there was the detached wagons and box cars that were holding the train back. They all watched then as Lee went to the back of the train.

Chuck stopped playing his guitar and stood up, resting the instrument against the log. "I think I should probably introduce myself to him." He said.

Marianne and Ben watched as he approached the empty box car. She then gently nudged him. "Benjamin?"

"What?"

"Ye an' Ah need a plan."

He immediately was confused. "What do you mean, Maria?"

Lowering her voice, she gestured around them. "This group? Is fallin' apart, Ben. Ahm a lovin', compassionate lass, but Ah know when enough is enough. These people are unstable, an' Ah dinnae want tae be dragged down with 'em if they _all_ fall apart."

Ben frowned, slightly. "What about Clementine?"

Marianne stole a glance at the little girl and sighed. "If Lee still manages tae stick around, he can take care o' the lass. An', as far as anyone is concerned, Lee an' Clementine are th' only stable people in this group, Ben. Kenneth has murdered Lilly's father, an' in turn, Lilly is on edge an' ready tae hurt anyone an' anything. Katjaa... she listens tae her husband, an' Duck..."

They both looked at the young boy, who was still resting against his mother. Although she hasn't told anyone, they both knew what was wrong with him. They've seen the turning process before, first hand. There was never a definitive time in which they would turn, but the stages were always the same. Marianne shook her head. "Ah dinnae think he has much longer, bein' all peely wally like tha'..."

Ben looked almost conflicted. Marianne was his best friend and, even in the worst of times, she was always the one who seemed to know what to do. But now, he wasn't sure if this was her knowing what was best, or just her giving up and wanting to get away from everyone. "Where do you think we'll go?" He asked.

"Well, if th' train is headed where Ah think it's headed, oot in th' country. Much safer there. An', if worse comes tae worst, we can always just try an' keep moving, maybe build our own community."

Marianne, seeing that Lee, Chuck and Kenny were all coming back, placed her Bible in her backpack and stood, swinging it over her shoulder. "Just think, okay?"

"Well, looks like we're heading out, then!" Kenny stated. "We don't have much, but pack up whatever you need and-"

Kenny was cut off by the sound of the RV starting up. Marianne's head snapped around and she saw Lilly in the driver's seat. Dammit, how did she slip away without her noticing?!

As Lilly pulled away in the RV, Marianne was half-expecting Kenny to chase after her. But no, he seemed rather calm.

That is, until he made a bee-line for her.

"What the fuck did I say, Marianne?" He seethed.

She shot the man a glare of her own. "Ah told ye, Kenneth; only my maw can call me Marianne! An' we have a train! Lilly can have her RV!"

Before the argument could grow, Lee put a hand on Kenny's shoulder. "Let it go, Ken."

They both continued to stare each other down, their gazes unwavering, before Kenny let out a defeated sigh. "Let's go." He said, walking back to the train.

As the rest of the group followed, Ben quickly said to Marianne. "Now I get what you mean..."

"Exactly, Benjamin."

/ / /

Just as Marianne had predicted, the train was loud. Well, of course it would be, what else could it be?

Of course, she wasn't about to let that distract her.

She was sitting against a box beside Ben, her hands clasped around her cross pendant and her head bowed. She couldn't remember the last time she had time for a decent prayer, and she thought now was a good a time as any.

There were so many things going on, so much death and pain, it was almost unbearable. As she prayed, she briefly reflected on what Travis had said to her back at the Motor Inn. _'How can an 'all loving God' let this happen?'_.

Although she didn't show it, those words had rattled her more than she would've liked. She couldn't help but feel that, in some aspects, Travis was right. How _could_ He let this sort of thing happen?

She sighed and kissed the small pendant. "Lord be with me..." She whispered.

Everyone, aside from Kenny, were all in the box car. Katjaa was still hanging onto Duck, who was getting paler and paler by the minute. The boy didn't have much longer... And the poor girl, Clementine; Duck was really her only friend. How would she cope with him gone?

"It's gotta be hard on ya', eh?" Chuck said to Lee. "Four adults, taking care of three kids."

He looked down to Marianne and Ben. "No disrespect, of course."

Ben glared ever-so-slightly and Marianne scoffed. "Ah umnae a wean!"

Chuck raised an eyebrow at the young lady. "You're from Scotland or something, I take it."

She nodded and raised her chin slightly in a proud manner. "Aye, that Ah am! Born in th' Highlands. My family an' Ah had tae move tae America, however."

He gave her a small smile. "I bet it was beautiful up there."

She smiled back. "Aye, tha' it was..."

Carley crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the box car. "There _were_ more of us, at one point."

"Dead get'em?"

"No... they didn't."

"Ah, livin' got'em."

Marianne immediately flashed back to Travis. The look on his face, moments before Lilly shot him... Why did he look so sad? Like he was apologizing for saving her. It wasn't right, him dying like that; he deserved better!

They all heard someone coughing and they looked to see Duck, blood spewing from his mouth and dribbling from the corner of his mouth. "Lee!" Katjaa called out. "Lee, I need your help right now! I need you to go and get Kenny."

Marianne sighed heavily and slumped against the wooden box. Not this again, she thought.

Ben watched as Lee cleaned up the blood off of Duck. "Maybe he'll make it, like you did." He said, a small spark of hope in his eyes.

She looked at him. "How often do ye see someone survivin' a bite, Ben? An' Ah didnae cough up blood."

He frowned and his eyes darted down to her arm. She rolled up her sleeve and sighed again. "How has the bruisin' _no'_ disappeared by now?"

The bruises that were around the scar were still there and as dark as ever. Although the bruises didn't grow, they certainly didn't shrink either. Some of the bruises were at least fading away, but barely. The Chomper must have bitten her real hard, or there was something trapped underneath the skin that she didn't know about. Blood, maybe.

She also still didn't understand how she managed to survive the Chomper biting her. Well, then again, it may not have bitten down on her too hard. It all happened so quickly, pulling it off of Maxine and then it fell on her and took a quick bite out of her.

Maybe it was just that; a quick bite. Most Chompers are able to chow down on a living person and they end up turning. But if they don't have the time to get a full bite in, maybe that doesn't allow for the infection to activate itself.

It was something that baffled her. And it always would. Maybe, once this was all over, once a cure was found, she could get some answers.

And, although she knew it wasn't her fault, she couldn't help but feel guilty for those who suffer bites and don't make it. That's why she never liked to show the bite too often to strangers, as they could think they'd have a chance in surviving a bite.

Marianne stood and walked over to Katjaa, kneeling down beside her and looking at Duck. "Ahm... terribly sorry, Katjaa..."

She could see the older woman fighting back tears. "It was going to happen, eventually... It will happen to all of us."

Marianne hesitated before placing a gentle hand on her arm. "If it would be alright with ye, might Ah be able tae pray fer ye?"

Katjaa pursed her lips and nodded slightly. "Yes, please."

Marianne grabbed the pendant on her necklace and held tight to it, bowing her head respectfully.

/ / /

The train had finally come to a full stop just as Marianne was finishing her prayer for Katjaa and Duck. It was the one thing that Marianne would never stop doing; praying. It was the one thing that was desperately needed, the one thing that could keep her faith strong and keep her from breaking down.

She kissed the silver cross. "Lord be with us..."

She stood from her spot on the floor of the box car. "Do ye need me tae carry him?" She asked.

"No, I got him..." Katjaa replied.

Everyone got off from the train, forlorn expressions all on their faces. Marianne just sat on top of the wooden box, her arms crossed and her eyes staring down at the floor. She knew what was going to happen, she knew what they were going to do. His parents were here; they wouldn't allow their boy to become one of those creatures.

She hummed a small tune to herself as Katjaa and Kenny talked it out, quiet enough so that they wouldn't hear her. She wouldn't be reacting so strongly if it wasn't a child, if it wasn't Duck. Of course, her heart would be ripped in half if it happened to any of the adults, but a child? A child didn't deserve to die because of a Chomper bite.

Marianne watched as Katjaa and Kenny both walked into the forest with Duck, presumably to... take care of him. She shook her head. Poor boy...

She released a mournful sigh and placed her head in her hands. If it wasn't for the raid, for the bandits, if it wasn't for the St. Johns and their farm, non of this would've happened. Larry would not have been murdered, Lilly wouldn't have shot Travis, Duck wouldn't have been bitten and the bandits would've been off their rears. But, of course, the St. Johns _did_ happen, and then their farm was taken over by Chompers, and the bandits were left without their one food source.

Where did the time go?

The sound of a gunshot and then Kenny's cry made her head shoot up in surprise. What had happened?

Lee was already on top of things as she saw him running into the forest. Marianne's blood ran cold. "Carley...?"

The woman shook her head and looked back at her. "I don't know."

They all anxiously waited, then, for their return, hoping that what they all thought happened truly didn't happen. They've already lost so many good people!

A second gunshot rang out.

Then it was quiet. Almost too quiet. It always seemed to be quiet nowadays, with all the things going on around them. Before the outbreak, there was always so much noise and silence was a good thing. But now, silence could be a bad thing. You didn't know who or what was hiding, who was ready to kill you or eat you, you didn't know if you were with friends, enemies, or if you were alone.

Lee and Kenny both emerged from the forest path. Just Lee and Kenny.

Marianne clawed at the wooden box, not caring for the splinters that got into her fingers. With clenched teeth, she hopped down from the box and walked to the front of the train. She needed to be away from everyone. She felt like she was about to explode; one wrong word and she could end up hurting someone. There was already enough hurt as it was.

/ / /

Marianne leaned against the railing of the train, watching as the tracks slowly slipped underneath the train. They always had to keep moving, she thought. There was never any rest, for the dead or for the living.

She heard the door open and then close. "Don't think I didn't see ya wandering up here."

She shook her head bitterly. "Ahm no' trying tae hide, ye ol' dug."

"Really." Chuck casually leaned against the railing beside her. "Then what are you doing up here instead of being with everyone else?"

"Ah need my space. Away from people."

"So, hiding, then?"

Marianne bit back a sigh and just continued to watch as the train picked up speed. There were so many dead trees. Just dead. There was almost no leaves, no sign of colour or life. All she ever saw were dark crows and ravens. "Ah should be dead..." She muttered.

"Beg pardon?"

"Ah should be dead." She said, a little more clearly. "Ah should no' even be alive, Ah should be a rotting corpse."

Chuck shuffled his feet, not out of discomfort, but more out of concern. "Now, little lady, after what just happened, I don't think you should be talking like that."

She shook her head and looked to the older man. "Nae, Ah dinnae mean Ah _want_ tae die. Ah mean Ah should already be dead!" She rolled up the sleeve of her jacket. "Ah was bit several months ago. But Ah have no' turned. Why should Ah be th' one tae cheat death when everyone else is dying?"

"It ain't your fault, ya know."

"Ah know it's no', but Ah cannae help but feel guilty fer it! People like Duck are dying, an' here Ah am, walking as if Ah was never bitten. Tha's no' fair!"

"And ya can't let that get to ya, Mary." He stated. "Look, I've been around long enough to know that you can't change things that have already happened. I don't know what went on before I met y'all, but whatever did happen, you can't change nothing about it."

Marianne sighed in defeat. The old man was right.

They both stayed silent, then. Watching the trees, the tracks, just everything that passed by them. The tracks seemed to go on forever!

"I saw ya praying with the lady, Katjaa was it?" Chuck commented. "That's good."

"What, prayin'?"

He chuckled. "That too, but faith. I don't believe in God or any of that nonsense, but it's something that you seem to treasure. Something that brings ya peace. That's good, and you shouldn't ever let that go."

A ghost of a smile could be seen on her lips. "Thank ye, Charles."

The door opened and closed again and Lee approached the two of them. He didn't look happy. "Whatever you want to say to Clementine, you say to me!"

Her eyes widened. What just happened?

"Excuse you, son?"

"Why'd you tell her she was gonna die?"

Chuck raised an eyebrow at him. "'Cuz she is."

He earned a deathly glare from Lee and Marianne cleared her throat slightly, now nervous as to what Lee could do. She had never seen him angry, but she was hoping she wouldn't see him angry now that they're at the front of a speeding train.

"Look, I don't know much about you folks, but I can tell you, sure as the suns' gon' come up tomorrow, that y'all keep going on like this, and that little girl's not gon' make it."

She tapped his arm. "An' how do ye know that fer sure? She's a strong lass."

"I know you folks don't have a goddamn plan!" He replied. "We get to Savannah, and then what?"

Savannah? Marianne's brows furrowed. Wasn't Savannah a city? "Savannah?" She asked.

Chuck suppressed a sigh. "And now I know that not everybody knows there's even a plan at all."

She stood up straight and stared directly at Lee. "Since when were we goin' off tae Savannah? Tha's a city area; Ah thought we were going off tae the country side!"

"You weren't there when we discussed this. Or awake." Lee replied. "And as soon as we get to Savannah, we're going to find a boat. Get out of this place."

Chuck was obviously unimpressed by Lee's statement. "You think that's a new idea? You even got the foggiest idea as to where you're gonna find one of those?"

Marianne, who was now both upset and angry with the idea of going to the city, snorted and leaned onto the railing. "Fail tae plan, ye plan tae fail." She muttered under her breath.

Chuck chose to ignore the young girl. "Look, ya gotta sit down with the girl and hash it out. Find a map, for Christ's sake. I'd give ya one if I had one! And if something were to happen to you-"

"It won't." Was his curt reply.

"If it _were_ , you gotta prepare the girl. Teach her to use a weapon and for criminy, cut that hair!"

"She's just a little girl."

Chuck sniffed. "And she'll die a little girl if you keep treating her like one!"

That much is true, Marianne thought. It was already bad enough that parents and adults treated kids like, well, _kids_ even before the outbreak started. But now, it would be even worse. If children stay children, they would never make it out alive. They have to learn to survive, before they end up getting put into a situation that could kill them.

"You gotta consider her a _living person_. That's it." Chuck continued. "You're either living or you're not. You ain't little, you ain't a girl, you ain't a boy, you ain't strong or smart, you're _alive_. Just look at her hair; you got her running around with a mop that's gonna act like velcro to any hands swingin' its way. Take care of it, before a Walker does for you."

Marianne brushed at her own hair. She had been letting it grow out, not even trimming it. But she always kept it back so nothing could grab it so easily. However, if Chuck had a bone to pick with Clementine's hair, he was certain to have a bone to pick with hers!

"And teach her how to use a gun because, like it or not, that's what saves your life from her on out."

Lee sighed quietly but he nodded. "Alright, I hear you. A plan, a haircut and a gun. It's good advice."

"Well, it's something." Chuck said.

Lee nodded his thanks and left the two of them to their own devices. Without even looking, Marianne could practically _feel_ Chuck's eyes burning a hole in her skull. "Dinnae lecture me, please." She whined, turning her head to look at him. "Ah'll get tae trimmin' my hair when Ah can."

Chuck smiled cheekily. "I wasn't gonna say nothing about your hair, seeing that you're older, but that's not a bad idea."


	7. The Herd

She didn't know how long they had been barreling down the tracks for, but one thing was for certain that if they continued to do so, they would end up crashing!

"Uh, Kenneth!" Marianne shouted. "Roadblock up ahead!"

Kenny winced, trying to see whatever she was seeing. His eyes then widened. "Oh, _shit_. _Hold on everybody_!"

He slammed onto the brakes, nearly throwing Chuck and Marianne off of the front of the train. Marianne groaned loudly as she collided with the railing and Chuck shouted at Kenny for the sudden motion.

When the train finally came to a stop, she slowly climbed down the ladder and sat against the train, moaning at the immense pain in her pelvis. That was _definitely_ going to bruise!

She then cringed as Kenny cursed loudly at the obstacle in front of them. "Language..." She muttered.

Ben shrunk back slightly at the older man. "Maybe we could walk?"

"That's fucking stupid, Ben."

"I'm just sayin'..."

She didn't know where it was going to stop; first, they had to be holed up at the Inn. And then, the train was their problem, and then the train became a solution, and now this bloody _tanker_ was a problem that couldn't simply be pushed through. What else was going to happen?!

Chuck was the last one to get off the train. "Hmph." He huffed. "I ain't got much experience about y'all's fortitude, but we could probably deal with that." He then patted the metal machine beside him. We got a goddamn train!"

"That thing's not full of milk, Charles!" Kenny snapped. That's probably gas or diesel; something that could explode."

Marianne finally stood up and gently rubbed at her hips. "Look, Kenneth, Ah know ye lost some people, but ye need tae pull yerself together, lad! We're a crew, we can do this!"

The fisherman slowly approached Marianne in a threatening manner, but she didn't back down. "We ain't shit, right now!"

"We-"

" _Yo_! You keep screaming like that, you're gonna get your face chewed off!"

Everyone looked up at the bridge to see two people standing at the edge. A man and a woman, the man being somewhat shorter than the woman. The man had short brown hair and was wearing a dark brown jacket. The woman had longer brown hair that was put into a bun (smart) and she was wearing a purple sweater coat.

They didn't _look_ too dangerous.

"Are you guys going to be trouble?" The woman asked. "Because we could've just kept walking."

Lee carefully approached the bridge and addressed the two strangers. "No, we're friendly!" He called up to them.

"That's what everybody says..." Marianne heard the woman mutter.

The two strangers could be seen conversing before the man asked, "You got a problem with your train?"

"Yeah," Kenny replied. "You're standing right in front of it."

The man shrugged slightly. "Dude, it's a wreck; it's not so bad from up here! Maybe send your buddies up to have a look."

Marianne allowed for the adults to converse among one another and she walked over to a dead tree, taking off her back pack and leaning heavily against it. "Lord, _please_ , Ahm beggin' ye, let these strangers be patient an' kind ones..."

She saw Clementine approaching her and she forced a small smile. "Hey there, lass."

The young girl looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

Marianne waved a hand dismissively. "Och, aye Clementine. Ah just bumped into the railing when the train stopped. Ah'll be fine." Her smile then disappeared and her face was filled with worry. "How are ye feelin'?"

A frown over came Clementine's features and she rubbed her arm, looking down at her feet. "Duck and Katjaa are gone..."

She bit back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "Aye, Ah know..." Was all she could say.

Clementine stood there for a few more moments before she looked up at her. "I'm going to go with Lee."

She jogged over to the bridge, where Marianne saw Lee on top of with the two strangers. Their conversation looked friendly, so she assumed everything was going to be alright. Aside from the tanker blocking the way, of course.

Ben decided to keep watch on top of the train while Kenny was brooding at the front of the train. She didn't blame the man, of course, him having just lost his son and his wife. He didn't have the time like she did to mourn for them. Chuck was playing the guitar (an almost melancholy tune) and Carley was sitting down beside him. So many people gone, so many people _dead_. How did they lose so many people in such a short time?

She shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking those things; not now! She sat down and, unzipping her back pack, took out her Bible and began to read more passages she had highlighted over the years. She remembered when she had first gotten her Bible, when she was graduating from the eighth grade. She was a reading machine as soon as she opened it; highlighting her favourite verses and highlighting the verses that her mother and father had shown her. Her Bible was one of the few things she had left of her parents; her Bible, and her necklace. She would be sure to treasure both items until she breathed her very last breath.

Which, if things continued the way they currently were, wouldn't be too much longer.

She read her Bible in silence for several minutes, slowly flipping through the thin pages. Nobody had bothered her or disturbed her, most likely because she wasn't really needed. There wasn't much that she could do, other than swing an axe and fire a crossbow. She couldn't fire a gun, not that she really wanted to anyways. Marianne absolutely _despised_ guns. They were loud and they were just death weapons. They were more dangerous than an axe or an arrow; one shot could kill you. Or damage you for life.

That, and the last time she tried to use a gun, she ended up giving herself a bloody nose due to the kickback.

Marianne heard someone approaching her and she looked up to see Carley walking towards her. "Hey, Maria? We may have found a way to get that tanker down."

A ghost of a smile spread across her lips. "That's good. Now, where's the 'but'?"

Carley chuckled. "The 'but' is that we actually need a blowtorch of some kind to cut it down. Lee says that the station house down the tracks could have something."

Marianne made a face. "An' what're the chances o' finding one o' those?"

Carley shrugged. "Beats me. Lee and Clementine are going to check the station. If they don't find a blowtorch, there could be other things that are useful in there."

The young girl raised an eyebrow. "Ye know, Ah think tha' Lee is good fer ye, Carley."

She sputtered. "Wha- don't be ridic-"

Marianne held up her hand. "Ahm no' going tae say anything tae anyone, but Ahm merely saying; he's good fer ye, an' yer good fer him." She smiled fully, then. "Keep each other close, aye?"

A small frown overcame Carley's features. "Yeah, Lee's good, _amazing_ really, but this isn't really the time for that kind of stuff, you know?"

Marianne nodded. "Mhm, aye, keep 'er going."

"He already has Clementine to worry about, I shouldn't be part of that mix. Maybe once everything is over, things could-"

She finally looked down to see Marianne smiling oh-so-smugly at her, her elbow on her knee and her chin resting on her hand. "Aye, things could what, now?"

Carley _tsked_. "Never mind. It's just not a good idea, is all."

"Carley, lass; since when is _anything_ a good idea, anymore?"

"Good point."

/ / /

They spent the rest of their time talking with each other about almost anything; the weather, the colours of the trees, why there wasn't much colour on the trees, wildlife (or lack thereof), and there was a bit of conversation about their lives before the outbreak started. Marianne learned about this man, Doug, who had saved her from getting attacked by Chompers. Unfortunately, he had died before they were able to get anywhere that was safe. Lee had to choose to save either she or Doug.

The choice he made was already apparent.

Carley had asked about her home back in Scotland. She didn't remember too much about it, but the details she did remember, she told Carley about. Marianne silently wondered what it was like back home now. Was it under just as much chaos, was it under control, or was it even happening at all?

"Looks like things went well." Carley stated.

Marianne looked to see Clementine, Lee and the woman, Christa (as Carley had told her), returning from the station. And they had a blowtorch.

Thank the Lord!

"Well, now we're makin' progress!" Marianne exclaimed. She stood from her spot on the ground and stretched out her limbs. Pelvis was still sore... "How long do ye think before tha' tanker is cut down?"

"Probably not too long."

"Well, Ahm just going tae be back oan the train; no telling when we'll be moving again."

Marianne swung her back pack over her shoulder and then walked back to the train, climbing up the ladder and leaning against the railing. She watched as Lee and Omid (whom of which she assumed was Christa's partner) made their way up the ladder on the bridge. Hopefully nobody got hurt during all of this; the last thing that was needed was a near-fatal injury.

Lee began to cut at the link between the tanker. He better be careful, she thought, or he could end up getting smothered!

The tanker suddenly moved and Omid barely pulled him out of the way in time.

Marianne held a hand to her racing heart. "Bloody glaikit..." She muttered. She then chuckled slightly as she watched Lee dangle Omid over the edge of the bridge to cut the rest of the link off of the tanker. He didn't look too impressed.

"Guys... there's something coming!" Ben shouted from atop the train.

Marianne looked around the train and, shielding her eyes from the sun, looked off into the distance.

At first it just seemed like a giant cloud of dust; sand storm? Did they even have those things in Georgia?

"We gotta go!" Ben shouted again.

Marianne's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her; it was a herd. She had remembered seeing a herd before meeting Lee's group, but it most certainly wasn't that size! "Everyone oan th' train, _now_!" She hollered at the group. Jumping off of the front of the train, she ran and scooped up Clementine, running back to the box car. "What about Lee?" The young girl asked.

"He'll be fine, lass!" She replied, lifting her up into the box car. Chuck, Christa, Carley and Ben all jumped into the box car and Kenny ran for the controls. Just as everyone was boarded, the tanker was finally cut loose.

Just when Marianne thought things would be alright, the tanker crashed into the ladder that lead up to the bridge. Her heart immediately sank.

"Kenny, _go_!" Lee shouted.

"How are they going tae get down from there?" She asked herself.

They heard one large _thud_ on the roof of the train. Where was the second one?

The second _thud_ came shortly after, but was immediately followed by a sharp cry of pain.

"Shit!" Christa cursed. Before Marianne could stop her, the woman jumped off of the train and ran to pick up Omid. "What're ye doing, lass?!" Marianne shouted.

She watched from inside the box car as the two people ran to try and catch up with the train. Marianne held out her hand to Christa, who gratefully took it. Then Lee grabbed Omid's hand and pulled him into the train.

"Lee!" Clementine exclaimed. "Are you hurt?"

"No, we're fine."

"Speak for yourself; my leg is fucked!" Omid snapped.

Carley looked out from the box car and shook her head in disbelief. "How did there get to be so many of them? Why are they in such a big group?"

"Marianne and I have seen that before." Ben said. "They come in herds, sometimes."

"Aye." She agreed. "An' th' train _is_ loud. We probably passed enough o' them tae attract the lot. An' we stopped long enough fer them tae catch up as well."

"But Walkers don't track." Carley stated.

"Tell tha' tae them, then!" Marianne snapped.

"Okay, just calm down!" Lee stood from the ground of the box car. "We're all tired and have had a rough couple of days. Just rest up until we get to Savannah, then we'll move on from there."

Marianne shook her head and sighed. She would feel a lot safer if they were to move to the country, where it was easier to fend off Chompers and easier to spot them. But, if Savannah was where they were headed, then she would have to deal with it. But that didn't mean making some plans for after they were through with the city.

Once she had the chance, she would talk to Ben about it. If he was open to leaving the group and heading out to the country side, then that would be fine by her. But if he wanted to stay... then there would definitely be some problems. Ben was the last friend she had, and she wasn't ready to lose him.

If they _did_ leave the group, would they really be able to survive on their own? They were just a couple of teenagers; would they be able to defend themselves against a herd, or a group of hostile survivors? Would they be able to find food on their own?

She shook her head again. Once things got to that, then she would think about it. But for now, she needed to rest. No telling what they could run into once they got into Savannah.


	8. Bitten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations; "goat" - got  
> "cowp" - knock down  
> "Ah dinna ken" - I don't know  
> "Pure givin' me th' boak" - Expression of disgust  
> "Skinny Malinky Longlegs" - Tall, thin person

Savannah was extremely... dead. There was no other word for it, it was just _dead_. There weren't any Chompers, there wasn't any people, there wasn't much of anything. Just lots of roads and streets and houses and trees. Cars were stripped of their tires and engine parts, trash was all over the streets. All the houses were boarded up, the doors were replaced with wooden planks and those wooden planks had some strange symbols on them. She tried figuring out what they were the first time she saw one, but she just gave up on it after Kenny snapped at her to keep up with the rest of the group.

The lack of Chomper activity was putting Marianne on edge.

She had her school jacket off and tied around her waist and she was carrying the crossbow, loaded and ready to fire. She gave the hatchet to Ben in case something happened. Things could go very well, of course, but knowing the world they were in now, that was highly unlikely.

The silence was broken (finally) by Lee. "How's Omid?"

A small look of concern fell on Christa's face. "His leg's pretty bad..."

"I'm fine..."

"You're _not_ fine; you need to rest." She looked back to Lee. "He needs to rest!"

"Kenneth!" Marianne called to the front. "How much farther are th' boats?"

"Should be just a few more blocks up ahead." Was his quiet reply.

This man, she thought, was determined to find a boat. She quietly reflected back on what Chuck had said; finding a boat wasn't new. If that was true, then there was a chance that there wouldn't be any boats left at all.

"Have ye ever considered tha' there may no' be any boats at all, Kenny?" Marianne asked. "Savannah seems pretty quiet; many people have probably already used th' boats tae leave th' city, an'-"

"There's going to be at least one boat!" Kenny snapped at her. "There has to be..."

"It's okay, Maria." Ben whispered to her. "Kenny knows what he's doing."

She made a face at him. Really, Benjamin?

Marianne jumped at the sound of a bell, making her fire her crossbow at the brick wall of a church. "Whoops..." She tittered.

Everyone looked up to the bell tower. "Maybe this city's not so dead after all..." Christa stated.

"Keep moving!" Kenny growled. "No-one's ringing that bell; it's automatic, on a timer."

Lee looked down at his wrist-watch. "What kind of church bell goes off at twenty past the hour?"

Marianne pulled the arrow from the wall of the church and looked around. "Ah dinnae know, nor do Ah care. One thing Ah do care about is movin'!"

Static could be heard coming from the walkie-talkie on Lee's belt and then a deep, almost menacing voice came soon after. "If I were you, I'd get out of the street. Now."

"I thought you said that thing didn't work, Lee." Carley said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes slightly.

Lee pulled the talkie from his belt and pressed the button on the side of it. "Hello, are you there?"

There was only static.

"Hello?"

Everyone waited, then, looking around warily for any signs of activity or life. As the bell died down, Omid asked, "What the hell even was that? Is someone trying to fuck with us?"

"Sounded more like a warning..." Ben commented.

"An' whit would th' bell be telling us, Benjamin?" Marianne snapped at him.

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls..."

Kenny rolled his eyes and turned around. "What're you yammerin' about?"

Everyone then turned to look back at where they had first come from. Their eyes widened.

"It tolls for thee..." Chuck finished.

Another herd of Chompers was headed their way, no doubt attracted to the sound the bell had created, and they were walking pretty fast. Could they smell flesh as well? Or do they just see things and eat them if they're warm enough?

"Everybody, _run_!" Lee shouted.

Everyone immediately took off down the street, slowly fanning out as they did. Ben made sure to stick close to Marianne. She shot at a Chomper that was directly ahead of them and stopped to pick up the arrow on the way. "Ye better get tha' hatchet ready, Benjamin!"

"It's not a gun, Maria!"

"Ye know full well wha' Ah mean, lad!"

"A little help, here!"

Marianne turned to see that Clementine and Carley had gotten cornered by a group of Chompers. Carley was firing at them with her gun as Clementine hid behind her. How did Clementine get separated from Lee?

She fought against the instinct to run away from the danger and aimed her crossbow, firing an arrow at the Chomper nearest to them. She quickly pulled another from her back pack and loaded it into the crossbow, firing it at another Chomper. How did they get cornered so easily?

As Marianne continued to thin the numbers from around Carley and Clementine, she failed to notice the Chomper walking up behind her.

Ben looked to his side to see that Marianne was gone. Where did she go? He turned around to see her shooting at Walkers that had cornered Carley and Clementine. When did she stop and how did he not notice she wasn't at his side?

One Walker was sneaking directly behind her, its arms outstretched and ready to grab her. How didn't she hear it?

" _Maria_ , _behind you_!" He shouted.

His warning came far too late. As she turned around, the Walker immediately grabbed her and sunk its teeth into her shoulder, making her shriek with pain and drop her crossbow

The horrible pain Marianne was feeling made her absolutely weak, her knees buckling from under her and making her fall. This is it, she thought. My final moment, my final breath. ' _Lord, please let my soul rest...'_

Over the sound of the growling Chomper, she heard a gunshot and the feeling of teeth sinking into her flesh was gone. Fueled by adrenaline, Marianne pushed the undead creature from atop her and looked up to see that Carley had shot it. She held out a hand. "Let's go!"

She didn't hesitate in grabbing her hand and standing up. She favoured her right shoulder as they ran away from the danger, ignoring the warm liquid that ran through her fingers.

"Move your asses!" Kenny hollered. "River street's right up ahead!"

"That's not all..." Ben warned him.

Another group of Chompers was just down the street, most likely attracted to the gunfire.

"Oh, give me a fucking break!"

Christa looked around. "Wait, where the hell is Chuck?"

Marianne looked back and saw Chuck fighting off a group of Chompers, right at the corner where Carley and Clementine had been caught. So _that's_ how they escaped...

"He's in trouble!" Omid exclaimed. "We gotta help him!"

"There's no time! We gotta go, now!" Kenny said.

"I'll be fine!" Chuck shouted, swinging his shovel and cutting through the head of a Chomper. "Just go!"

Kenny took off down a road and the rest of the group followed close behind him, not keen on getting separated again.

/ / /

Kenny turned into an open gate and through an open gate. He then ran around the side of the house, where another gate was. Most likely the entrance to the back yard.

He opened the gate to let everyone in. "I'll get the door."

Marianne threw her back pack off of her and collapsed against the high wall and growled, clenching at her still-bleeding shoulder. Omid tripped and fell down beside her as Lee closed the gate behind him.

"Are you okay?" Lee asked.

"Yeah..."

"You've opened up your wound; you're bleeding!" Christa quickly assessed his leg. "Shit, it's going to get infected; we need to get him inside and clean him up!"

Lee looked over to Kenny. "How's that door coming?"

"I'm working on it, okay?!" The older man snapped.

Christa glared and crossed her arm. "Well work faster, would you?" She hissed. "It won't be long before those things outside figure out where we went! You know they can smell blood!"

"Lady, I ain't the one bleeding!" Kenny growled.

Marianne untied the jacket from around her waist and quickly applied the sleeve to her wound. If Chompers could smell blood, then hers combined with Omid's would definitely help the Chompers in finding them a lot quicker. Why was it hurting so much? It didn't hurt this bad when she had first got bitten!

Carley saw the teenager in obvious distress and she knelt down beside her. "Maria, are you okay? Did you..." She lowered her voice. "Did it bite you."

The silence was an answer enough for her.

"You need to say something." Carley told her. "Now."

"An' what; make everyone worry about th' bite _an'_ gettin' inside?"

"It's calm right now, the worst danger is over."

Christa soon saw the two girls whispering at each other and she immediately called them out on it. "What's going on?" She asked them. "What's wrong with your shoulder, Marianne?"

"Only... my _maw_ can call me Marianne!" She hissed.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?" Christa asked again.

Everyone's attention was turned to Marianne, then, who felt almost scared being under their scrutiny. She looked at Carley, who raised her eyebrows. _'Can't hide it, now.'_

Marianne removed the jacket sleeve from her shoulder and everyone gasped.

"You got bit?!" Kenny asked.

"Ah was helpin' Carley an' Clementine!" She quickly tried to explain, her brogue growing thicker from the panic. "An' Ah didnae pay attention an' a Chomper goat th' jump oan me an' managed to cowp me, an'-"

"Maria," Carley tutted. "Calm down!"

"Nae, ye stop flappin'!" She exclaimed.

Lee quickly interjected before any rash statements could be made. "Look, we'll deal with it once we get inside. For now, we need to focus on just that; getting inside!"

Carley helped to apply pressure to the bite, making Marianne hiss in pain. "Ahm such a huddy..."

"A... what?"

"An idiot, Carley! Ah should have heard tha' Chomper..."

She wiped at the blood and turned the jacket over to the cleaner side. "Well... your survived one bite, maybe you can survive another."

Marianne shook her head. "Ah dinna ken, Carley. Ah doubt it works tha' way."

As Carley helped clean the bite wound, Marianne looked around the back yard. It was fairly spacious, guarded by a brick wall and spiked fence. There was a shed covered in vines, a fountain that didn't run and a dog house. Beside the dog house there was a grave with a cross. She already knew what was buried under all that dirt.

"Whoever heard of a locked doggie door?" She heard Kenny ask.

"I have." Omid replied. "My neighbour had one just like that. It's radio controlled, the dog wears a collar with a chip in it so the door only opens when the dog gets close."

Kenny shrugged slightly. "Well, shit; every day's a school day."

Ben looked around. "All right, so... where's the dog?"

Marianne pointed with her left arm. "Buried. Over there."

"How would you know?" Kenny snapped.

"Who would bury a human by a dug house, Kenneth?"

"Well, you're already bitten, so how's about you test that theory?"

Well, at least she knew where he stood about her being bitten. Marianne huffed defiantly and stood up. "Alright, then!"

She looked around and saw a shovel, conveniently leaning against the wall of the shed. Good; she wasn't about to dig up the dog with her bare hands. She walked over and grabbed the shovel, shooting Kenny a dirty look before making her way over to the grave.

She hesitated slightly. She never really enjoyed graves. Even just going to a cemetery made her skin itch and shivers run down her spine. It was a sort of respect for the dead; when they're buried, they're laid to _rest_. Ever since she was little, she always felt that walking over top of graves was already bad enough, and she did not enjoy the idea of digging up a grave, even if it was just an animal's grave.

"Hey, be careful." Omid warned her. "Digging up dead things isn't what it used to be, know what I mean?"

She nodded. "Aye, ah hear ye."

Marianne pushed the shovel into the soft dirt, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her right arm. Lee, Clementine and Ben approached her, almost as if they were interested to see what she was going to unearth.

She scooped up another pile of dirt and a sudden stench filled her nostrils, causing her to gag heavily. "Pure givin' me the' boak, tha' is!" She groaned. Gritting her teeth, she dug up the last of the dirt and stuck the shovel into the soil beside her. It was definitely a dog. Or whatever was left of it.

It looked more like one of the Walkers outside; the eyes were gone and exposed the sockets underneath, the fangs were bared and the body was thin and frail. She could almost see the ribs of the dog. Bits and pieces of rotting flesh held fast to the bones.

Marianne groaned in disgust and knelt down, hesitantly reaching out towards the carcass. She lifted it up by the collar and the flesh could be heard moving against the collar. "Ben, lad, give me th' hatchet."

Before the tool touched her hand, the head of the dog fell off and the collar slipped off of the spine, making everyone groan in disgust. Marianne pushed herself back to avoid touching the head.

"Okay, that is _not_ cool." Ben stated.

Christa could be heard vomiting over by the wall. "Are you okay?" Clementine asked her.

Christa wiped her mouth and forced a smile down at the little girl. "I'm fine, sweety. It's just the smell."

Omid looked clearly concerned. "Are you sure you-"

"I said I'm fine, okay?"

Marianne handed the collar to Lee. "Good luck fittin' in tha' duggy door, Lee."

"I could maybe reach up and grab the lock."

She watched as Lee unlocked the doggy door and, getting on his hands and knees, attempted to reach up to the lock. "Bloody eejit..." She muttered, standing up and wiping herself off. "Oy, let Mister Skinny Malinky Longlegs do it." She said, pointing to Ben. "He can probably-"

Clementine suddenly crawled underneath the door.

"Clem!" Lee called out. "Are you okay? Say something!"

When no response came from within the house, a feeling of dread soon overcame Marianne. "Oh, Lord..."

The knob turned, the door opened and Clementine jumped out. "Ta-da!" She exclaimed.

"Way to go, Clem!" Lee praised her.

"Aye, well done, lass!"

"I did good, right?"

Lee crouched down and smiled at the girl. "Yes, you did. You did good!"

"Could we maybe have this conversation inside?" Omid asked as he stood. "My leg is starting to hurt like hell."

/ / /

The house was empty, but extremely elegant. High walls, archways for doors, beautiful kitchen and living room. And, thankfully, the still had furniture left in the house.

Marianne collapsed into a chair and held onto her shoulder. Ben was immediately concerned; she looked a lot worse than the first time she had been bitten. He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "How're you feeling, Maria?"

"Just... peachy..." She hissed.

As soon as Omid was settled onto the couch in the living room, Christa made her way to the kitchen. "So," Christa started. "When were you going to tell us about the radio?"

"Tell you what?" Kenny asked.

"That it's working! There's someone else on the end of that thing; didn't you think it would be important to share with the rest of us?"

Carley walked away from them, not wanting to get in the middle of an argument. "I'll go and check the house to see if it's safe." She quickly gave Marianne her jacket before going off into another room.

"I was going to tell you." Lee explained. "Kenny and I only found out just yesterday."

Christa placed a hand on her hip, clearly unimpressed. "So the both of you were keeping it from us. Great."

"Who gives a shit about the damn radio?" Kenny shook his head and pointed to Marianne. "We got a damn bite victim in the group again!"

Ben glared at him. "Hey, lay off, man! Maria's been bitten before, she can pull through again."

"And then what? She said she got sick when she was bitten, who's to say she won't get sick again? She could slow us down, drain the little resources we have left!"

"Are ye sayin' Ah should leave, Kenneth?" Marianne asked. "Because Ahm more than willin' tae if yer going tae act like tha'."

"All the better for us, then!" Kenny crossed his arms and glared at the teenager.

Lee quickly interjected. "Nobody is leaving this group; we don't kick people out, and we don't abandon people. We try and help them."

"There's no helping someone who's bitten!" Kenny countered.

"Ah was plannin' oan leavin' anywa-"

"Kenny," Lee lowered his voice, trying not to yell back at the man. "I understand why you're upset about this, but we can't jump to conclusions. She probably won't turn."

"'Probably'. _Probably_? Since when do we have a 'probably' in that kind of a sentence?! If -when- she does turn, that's each and every one of us in danger! Think about Clementine!"

Marianne raised her hand. "If Ah could maybe just-"

"I _am_ thinking about Clementine, Ken!" Lee gestured to Marianne. "But I'm also thinking about her. If we kick her out, leave her on her own, and she survives the bite but dies from something else, that's her blood on our hands!"

"I'd rather have her blood on my hands than the blood of everyone else in the group." Kenny pushed past Lee and made his way over to the bitten teenager. "She goes, _now_!"

Ben stood from his chair. "Don't touch her!"

Kenny scoffed. "What're you gonna do, Ben?"

Marianne, now tired with being ignored, gathered as much air into her lungs as possible and shouted at the very top of her lungs. " _MAY AH SPEAK_?!"

Dead silence filled the house and Marianne looked around, her hazel eyes darting from person to person. She sighed and brushed back her hair. "Thank ye..." Huffing heavily, she sternly addressed Kenny, who had his fists clenched at his sides. "Would it make ye happy if Ah were tae tell ye tha' Ah was already plannin' oan leavin'?"

Kenny's eyes widened in shock and his hands relaxed. "What?"

"This group?" She gestured around her. "Is already fallin' apart. First, ye murder Larry. Then, Lilly cracked an' murdered Travis..." Her voice cracked slightly at the mention of his name and she cleared her throat. "An' then she left. Katjaa an' Duck are... an' then Chuck is most likely havin' his innards eaten out by Chompers." She then gestured to him. "An' yer stir-crazy oan findin' a boat an' yer thinking only fer yerself, no' wanting tae listen tae what others have tae say. It's only a matter o' time before someone else dies, someone else is murdered or left behind. Ah dinnae want tae be around when this group falls, Kenneth."

Kenny glared at her, his anger returned and rekindled. "I'm not thinking for myself; I'm thinking for everyone else here!"

"Yes, ye are! Yer thinkin' about Katjaa an' Duck an' what happened. Ye dinnae want tae face another turning victim. Yer scared, Kenneth!"

"The hell do you know-"

Marianne slammed her fist into the table. "An' yer scaring _me_!" She sighed and stood from her chair, rubbing at her eyes. "It's like yer a robot, focused oan one thing. Ye want tae find a boat, but did ye ever consider there may no' be anymore? Savannah is dead, Kenneth, an' in more ways than one."

"We are going to find a-"

"An' yet yer still willing tae sacrifice anyone an' anything tae get tae one! Tha' truly scares me, the mere thought tha' ye'd be willing tae abandon someone fer the sake of a plan filled with holes!" She finally looked up to the older man, lifting her chin defiantly. "If ye still fail tae see tha', then my point shall be proven." She then pointed to the door. "An' Ah'll walk straight outta here."

Nobody dared to speak or to even move as the two people stared each other down, one with a blazing fire behind their eyes, the other with a shimmering flame in theirs. Marianne narrowed her eyes slightly and Kenny's lip curled slightly in a snarl.

Carley walked into the living room, ready to announce the safety of the lower and upper floor. She then saw how everyone else was silent, and how Marianne and Kenny were staring each other down. She had assumed that Marianne had only gotten impatient when she shouted, but apparently it wasn't just impatience. So, she slowly backed up and away from the two, sitting down quietly on a chair in the living room.

Kenny swallowed and the curl in his lip disappeared. Marianne smiled.

"Fine." He gritted. "You can stay. But we are finding a damn boat."

Marianne's smile immediately disappeared and was replaced with a frown. She shook her head in disbelief and she blinked rapidly. "Ye still think yer going tae find a boat?"

"I don't think, I know!"

Her lip quivered slightly and she sighed, looking down at the floor. "Very well."

She pulled on her jacket and grabbed the hatchet Ben left on the table, putting it in her back pack. Zipping it up, she huffed and swung it over her good shoulder. "Ah'd wish ye luck, Ken, but yer going tae need a bloody miracle tae find a boat."

Ben suddenly stood up and grabbed her arm. "You're not seriously going to leave, are you?"

Marianne quirked her eyebrows. "We talked about this, Benjamin. Ye already know how Ah felt."

"Then I'm going with you!"

"Yer no' afraid of me turning?"

"You won't turn."

Carley also stood up. "Hold on, you're actually leaving?!"

Marianne rolled her eyes and groaned. "Aye, we established this!"

Lee stepped forward and placed a reassuring (and light) hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to leave, Maria. At all. Kenny is not the leader, here."

"But he seems tae think he is."

Christa then also stepped forward. "Maria, think about what you're doing. There's a whole group of those things out there!"

"Please don't go, Maria..."

Marianne turned around to see a teary-eyed Clementine. "You're my friend! What about when we did leaf rubbings together?"

She sighed quietly and approached the young girl, crouching down to her level. "An' Ah truly had fun with ye, Clementine. But Ah dinnae want tae scare ye or anyone else here."

"But you don't scare me!" She exclaimed. "You didn't turn the first time you got bitten, right? Well, maybe you won't turn again!"

She smiled and gently placed her hands on her shoulders. "Ah would like tae think tha' as well, Clementine. But Ah dinnae think it will work this time. Ahm thinking about yer own safety, sweetheart."

"Just let her go, Clementine." Kenny ordered her. "She wants to leave, so let her leave."

"Kenny, are you fucking serious?!" Carley asked. "You're going to let a teenager walk alone out there?"

"I'm not letting her, she's leaving on her own choice."

"Then I'm going with her."

Marianne immediately stood and shook her head. "Nae, Ah already have Benjamin coming along with me, Ah dinnae need a... what is it called, a 'third wheel'?"

Carley crossed her arms defiantly. "You need someone who can shoot a gun. You can't survive with just a baby hatchet."

She rolled her eyes and spun around on her heel, gesturing with her hand. "Anyone else volunteer as tribute, hm?"

Nobody responded, not even Lee. Omid, who hadn't said a single word, finally spoke. "Was that a _Hunger Games_ reference?"

"Ahm going tae take tha' as a 'nae'." Marianne readjusted the back pack on her shoulder. "If tha's everyone, then Ah best get my rear going."

She walked towards the front door with Ben and Carley following close behind her, briefly giving Kenny a dirty glare. She put a hand on the doorknob and she turned around. "Ah'll be seein' all o' ye sometime. Hopefully, no' too soon. God bless each an' every one o' ye!"

She twisted the doorknob and, with a small huff, walked outside.


	9. Lucky, Unlucky, Strangers, Friends

"You know, Maria, that was real gutsy standing up to Kenny like that. But leaving?"

Marianne looked around the corner, checking for any signs of Chompers. "Ye know, ye can still go back to the house, lass."

"I'm not leaving you and Ben alone out here!" She hissed.

Seeing that the coast was clear, she turned the corner and readjusted the back pack on her shoulder. "What about Lee?"

Carley hesitated. "I don't think he even liked me back... Besides, it was probably hero-worship I was feeling. He was the one who saved me."

"Are ye sure, Carley?"

"Don't think that placing doubt in me will make me go back. I'm _not_ leaving you two alone!"

Ben cautiously tapped Marianne on her shoulder. "Are you sure this is the way we came from?"

"King Street, Benjamin. Tha's where we came from, when th' herd ambushed us." Her eyes caught sight of a small item on the ground and she smiled, wlaking over to it. "An' here's my crossbow..."

She took her back pack off her shoulder and opened the zipper, pushing aside the arrows and her Bible to make room for the weapon. "Ah have only a few snacks in my pack." She informed them. "It'll last us fer a few days, barely."

"Is that all you've planned, Maria?" Carley asked. "We need more than food; we need a decent plan, a location and another plan for if we ever get separated."

Marianne stood and placed her back pack onto her shoulder again, turning to face Carley. "Ah feel like there's more tae tha' sentence..."

Carley's eyes darted briefly to her other shoulder.

"Ye know what tae do if Ah turn." She tapped the side of her head.

"You won't turn, Maria!" Ben exclaimed. "Would you stop talking like that?"

Marianne raised her hand. "Fine, lad. Let's just get out o' Savannah, an' then we can think o' a plan."

They continued to walk down the street. "We need a plan as to where we're going, at least." Carley said.

"Let's try either a small town or out in th' country."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"We can keep movin' until we find my home." Marianne replied. "An' if tha' fails, we keep movin' until we find a small community. But we cannae stay fer too long; we've all seen what can happen..."

Carley sighed. "Would you be open to going to another city? Richmond Hill isn't too far from here."

Marianne smiled and nodded. "Aye, as long as we dinnae stay fer too long. We need tae find supplies somehow."

/ / /

"I don't see the train; are you sure we're not on the other side of the city?"

"We aren't looking for the train and I don't _think_ we're on the other side of the city... yet..."

"Ye know, Ah trusted ye tae lead because Ah thought ye knew the way tae Richmond?"

Carley rolled her eyes. "I do know the way to Richmond, I've been there to visit family before! We just need to find the road leading to the highway. In the meantime, we should look in the different houses and stores for supplies."

They had gone deeper and deeper into the city, and those strange marks on the doors were no longer showing up. Marianne assumed that whatever people in whatever community had made those marks didn't get this far into the city. There were hardly any Chompers either, which was good. No need to fire a gun or use arrows from the crossbow.

Which was also good, because Marianne was feeling incredibly tired. More tired than usual, which was odd. She had slept before they got to Savannah.

"Do ya think we'll really find anything?" Ben asked.

"Aye, there's bound tae have been something overlooked. Ye never know!"

They passed by a car that had crashed into a hydro pole, which had a corpse sitting inside it. Ben suddenly stopped and looked inside. "Hey, uh, guys?"

Marianne walked over to where Ben was standing. "Aye, what?"

He pointed. "I don't think he turned..."

They all peered inside to see the man in the driver's seat leaning heavily onto the wheel, blood splattered all over the cracked windshield. There was a deep indent in his head. He also wasn't wearing his seat belt. He looked fairly young, perhaps in his early twenties. "I don't know if that's a worse way to go, or a better one..."

"How recent does it look, Benjamin?" Marianne asked, peering inside the windows.

"How would I know?"

"Ye used tae watch all o' those murder-mystery shows, aye?"

"That doesn't mean I'll know how fresh a body is."

Marianne shrugged. "Just a thought, really..."

Carley opened the door and gingerly removed the man from the steering wheel. She grimaced at the gruesome sight. "Well, it looks recent enough to me..." She reached around and pulled the keys out from the ignition. "And if it's recent, looks untouched..." She pressed a button on the key.

The trunk of the car opened up and Marianne pushed the lid up. "No' much, Ahm afraid..."

Ben looked into the trunk and grabbed the back pack that was in it, opening the zippers to look inside. "More food and some water." He handed the back pack to Carley, who swung it over her shoulders. He then pulled out a map that was on the floor of the trunk. "Why'd he have the map in the trunk?" He asked.

Marianne shrugged and closed the trunk. "Maybe he lived here in Savannah? Ah dinnae ken."

Carley took the map and opened it on top of the trunk lid, looking over the area. "Okay, so we're here in Savannah." She pointed to a spot on the map. "If we want to get to Richmond, we'll have to move south of the city-"

"South?" Marianne asked. "Is tha' really a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Everyone down south would have wanted tae move north." She explained to the older woman. "As it's th' only way tae go fer them. So, we should probably do th' same, aye?"

Carley's eyebrows quirked. "Alright, fair point. So, how far north should we go?"

"Do ya think Arvo's still alive?"

Marianne made a face. "Ben, do ye really think he would be? Although Ah do recall him saying tha' his sister had friends somewhere in North Carolina, it does no' mean they made it there."

Ben shrugged slightly. "It's worth a shot, I think. It's better than staying put."

They all looked at one another, looking for some form of confirmation. Although Marianne was the one who left and Ben and Carley were really just there to help her, she didn't like the idea of being a leader. The final decision, she felt, shouldn't be hers to make.

Carley finally spoke. "Alright, then; North Carolina it is." She folded up the map and put it into Marianne's back pack. "If we want to get there, we should get moving now. It's almost dark and we don't have a base or shelter."

"An' the herd is oan its way, too."

They looked at her. "Herd?" They asked in unison.

Marianne gestured back towards where they came from. "Do ye no' remember the herd tha' nearly got us back at the bridge? They followed us because of the loud train. Ah have no doubt tha' they're still making their way here, now. An' Ah doubt tha' we can make it oot before they get here."

Carley crossed her arms. "Okay... what do you suggest, then?"

She shrugged. "Get oot, like ye suggested. If the herd gets oan us, though, we should probably try an' get tae higher ground."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ben stated.

/ / /

They had made it back to the train in good time, although it _was_ getting incredibly dark outside. Being out in an open area was alright, but during the daytime. In the evenings, it was better being in a spot that was crowded, like a town or city or even a forest.

It especially wasn't good when someone was barely able to walk.

"Maria, come on..."

"Ahm tryin', Ben, Ahm tryin'." She hissed, resting against the train. "Ah cannae be this sick already..."

She didn't remember the illness getting to her so quickly the first time she had been bitten. It wasn't until the next day that she had started getting a fever.

Well, then again, it wasn't as big of a bite compared to the one she had received several hours ago. The Chomper seemed about ready to take a chunk out of her!

"Do you want to stay in the box car until morning?" Carley asked her. "It's literally right here."

Marianne immediately shook her head. "Nae, we need tae keep movin'." She stated. "Ah know tha' there could be houses oot in th' country areas... we find one o' those, we should be fine..."

Before they continued onward, she grabbed at her silver Cross and held it close to her heart. "Lord be with us as we move oan an' please, keep us shielded an' protected..."

/ / /

Ben swung the hatchet at a lone Chomper, killing it almost instantly. "This is the first one we've seen out here..." He said.

"Herd." Marianne stated, pointing out into the distance. "Comin' our way..."

The evening had gone by, although slowly, for them without a hitch. Of course, Marianne had a few moments where she would collapse from dizziness, or she would suddenly be gagging up whatever contents were left in her stomach. At first, she was scared she was turning, but Carley was quick to clarify that if she was going to turn, it would've happened a while ago. And she also wasn't coughing up blood.

But still, she was feeling incredibly sluggish and sore!

Carley kicked at the Chomper. "Well... how are we going to do this? I don't think we can walk around them. And we don't have many bullets or arrows, and a hatchet can only do so much."

"We walk through them."

She rolled her eyes. "Great idea, Ben! Maybe you could hack off my legs while we're at it and make it even more easier to eat me."

Marianne shook her head. "Nae, he's right... we did this once."

"You just walked through a group of, well, Walkers."

She nodded. "Aye, but we had 'dead' literally all over us." She took the hatchet from Ben and, using the sharpest end, gutted the fallen Chomper, making Carley groan in disgust. "Ah learned, after getting bitten back before meeting all o' ye, tha' having their guts all over ye will make them tend tae ignore ye. Ye smell like them."

Marianne scooped her hand into the guts of the Chomper and rubbed herself all over, careful as to properly cover her legs and feet. Any crawlers that smelt something off would be more than happy to chew someone's legs or feet off. She then put some on her cheeks, forehead and ear. She didn't bother with the other one, as it was still bandaged.

"Ya need me tae scrub ye down, Carley?" She asked.

Carley made a face and crossed her arms. "I don't know..."

Ben practically dug into the guts and splattered himself with them. "Come on, the smell isn't that bad."

"It's not the smell I'm worried about."

"If yer scared 'o germs an' such..." Marianne groaned at the strain in her muscles as she stood back up, cringing at the sound of her knees cracking. "Dinnae worry, lass. As long as ye dinnae eat any, ye should be fine."

Carley looked back off into the distance to see the crowd of Walkers slowly making their approach. She sighed and crouched down, hesitantly dipping her own hands into the guts. "You think they'd be warm, but they're just stone cold."

"Aye" Marianne nodded. "Cold is good. Cold means dead. An' the stench stays long enough."

As Carly wiped herself down, Ben made sure that Marianne's back was covered. "Are you sure walking through them is a good idea? I mean, you are pretty sick."

She simply shrugged. "We dinnae have any other choice, Ben. We got tae keep movin' forward."

With all of them finally covered up in the remains of the Chomper, they continued onward, closer towards the slow-moving herd of Chompers. As they got closer and closer, they could begin to hear their hungry growls and groans.

"Guys, I _really_ don't know about this..." Carley said.

"It works, lass." Marianne reassured her. "We've done it, before. As long as ye dinnae bump too hard into one, make any sudden fast moves or odd sounds, ye should be fine."

Carley swallowed but nodded.

The herd was almost directly on top of them. Marianne quickly whispered to them, "If ye get separated, just keep movin' forward! We meet each other at the end o' the herd."

The first row of Chompers slipped between them and Carley immediately went into a half-crouch, leaning down slightly, almost as if it would help them not see her.

Marianne and Ben stuck close to one another. She held onto his jacket sleeve, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down.

Big mistake.

She smell of the guts was already bad enough, but combined with the more fresher, deader smells of an entire horde of Chompers and along with the fact that Marianne felt sick to her stomach, that did not make for a good outcome.

Ben's eyes widened as Marianne suddenly gagged and she held onto her stomach. He placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close to her. "Just keep going." He whispered. "Don't breathe so deeply."

She nodded and swallowed the bile that had accumulated in her throat, making a face of pure disgust. Worse than eating a "peach" bean-boozle, she thought.

"Just a little bit longer," He whispered again. "And we'll be-"

He hadn't been watching where he was going and in turn, he failed to see the Chomper that had been crawling towards him. He had stepped on its hand and, finally realizing that the thing stepping on it was warmer than usual, grabbed at his ankle with a loud snarl.

Ben cried out in shock and fell down with a loud thud. The other Chompers, attracted to the sudden sound of something living, all crowded around Ben. Marianne had almost screamed but she quickly covered her mouth.

She slowly backed away as the Chompers crowded around the fallen survivor, who was now screaming in pure agony. She could hear the sound of tearing flesh, of cracking bones, of teeth sinking into whatever they had gotten into, the blood splattering on the ground.

She ran, then. She didn't know why, but she just ran. She needed to get away from them, get away from the ongoing assault. Marianne dodged under various outstretched arms, pushed at whatever Chomper got too close to her, sliced at any Chompers that got in front of her. This wasn't the plan, she thought. They were supposed to get through slowly and calmly! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Marianne had been running so quickly that she didn't even realize she had gotten far past the herd. Far past what had happened to Ben... dear god, why was everything going so wrong?

"Maria!" She heard someone call out. Someone. It wasn't the person she wished it was.

Carley stopped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Maria! What happened? I just saw you taking off! Where the hell is Ben?"

She looked back at the herd, shaking her head as tears spilled from her eyes. "He..."

Carley suddenly grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her. "Hey, we gotta keep going! Some of them are following us, Maria!"

"He just..."

"Maria, snap out of it!"

"He's gone."

Carley grabbed at her hand and suddenly pulled her along. "We'll mourn later! We need to move, _now_!"

Finally snapped out of her trance, Marianne ran just behind Carley, running as far away from the Chompers that were chasing after them. _'Lord, please let his soul rest!'_.

/ / /

_ **3 Days Later...** _

They were both huddled close to the fire, trying to keep as warm as possible. Normally, one of them would be taking a shift. But neither of them could sleep. How could they? They've been doing nothing but moving, their brains are on overdrive, constantly on survival mode.

Empty stomachs most certainly didn't help.

Marianne could feel Carley staring at her, but she didn't bother with calling her out on it. What was the point? All she would want to do was talk.

Carley sighed. "Come on, Marianne. Talk to me."

She hugged her knees close to her chest and placed her chin on her knees. "Only my maw can call me Marianne..."

"You've barely said a word since we got out of Savannah. I get you're not feeling the greatest, but a fever doesn't keep people from talking."

Marianne shrugged. "Whit is there tae say?"

"It's not good, keeping those feelings built up, Maria." Carley continued. "That's what Kenny did."

Marianne swallowed heavily. She was right. "Ben was one o' my last friends left. First, Travis was murdered. Then, Ben died from a stupid Crawler... Ah have no friends left, friends Ah knew _before_ this all started! Ah dinnae ken if Arvo is still alive or no'. Even if he is, Ah doubt tha' we'll even find him. America is massive."

Carley licked her dry lips. "Well, you did say his sister had friends in North Carolina. We're in South Carolina, right about now. It's not too far away."

She shook her head. "Dinnae try an' place false hope, Carley. There's no hope in this world, anymore."

"How can you say that?" Carley asked, almost incredulously. "Maria, for as long as I've known you, you have been the most strongest girl I've ever known! You've stuck to your faith, your friends, people you considered family! The only reason that you stuck with those for so long is exactly because of hope; you can't give that up now!"

Marianne chuckled. "Hope is dyin', Carley. Ah used tae have hope, hope tha' Ben and Ah would make it oot together, tha' we could find more survivors, ones we knew. Maybe even a few strangers. But ye cannae trust strangers anymore, Carley. And ye cannae trust even friends. Even the tightest o' circles can fall apart if someone gives tha' wee nudge."

Carley didn't bother with a reply. She just needed more time, she thought. They've been moving for so long, she hasn't been given the proper time to mourn for Ben. Just let her think.

The bush was filled with nothing but the chirps of crickets and the crackling of the fire. They could both hear twigs snapping, not in the fire of course, but somewhere around the bush.

Marianne looked back over her shoulder, her hand suddenly resting on her crossbow. Carley got her gun ready. "I heard it, too..." She answered Marianne's unspoken question.

Carley stood and Marianne turned around and got onto her one knee, aiming their weapons at the approaching noises. "Keep your finger off the trigger!" Carley sharply reminded her.

"Aye, it is!" She hissed.

"Are ya'll friendly?" A voice called out. It was fairly masculine, with a hint of a southern drawl.

Marianne looked back over her shoulder and gestured with her head. "Who's asking?" Carley replied.

"Well, I am, obviously- _ow_!"

"Don't get smart with these guys!"

Marianne, having heard a second voice (also masculine), quickly backed up, careful as to avoid the fire and stood beside Carley. "They may have more than two."

As the figures soon started coming closer to the light, they spoke again. "We're friendly! We won't shoot if you don't!" A pause, then, "We have a kid."

The two women hesitated. "Carley," Marianne whispered, "If they have a wean, Ah doubt they're oan their own."

Carley nodded in agreement.

They both waited, weapons still aimed, until the two men and the rest of their group made their presence known to them. The first man was fairly tall, wearing a brown shirt with a pair of jeans. He had brown, wavy hair and brown (they guessed) eyes. The second man was just about the same height as the first. Blue shirt with a white one underneath. Camouflage patterned pants. Almost tacky. They could see the faintest of stubble on his jawline and upper lip. His eyes were a metallic blue and he wore a cap on his head. Was that a mullet?!

Carley gestured with her gun. "Where's the kid you mentioned?"

The man in the blue shirt shook his head. "Nuh-uh, weapons down first."

The two women exchanged a look. "Ye first, lads." Marianne stated.

The man in blue placed his rifle on the ground and the man in the brown shirt took a large blade, most likely a machete, out from the hilt on his back and dropped it onto the ground. Marianne was surprised with how well these strangers were cooperating with them.

"Alright," the man in the brown shirt said. So he was the one with the southern drawl... "Your turn."

Carley slowly placed her gun down and Marianne followed suit. "An' who are ye two lads, eh?"

The man who had the machete tilted his head. "You sound like you're from Scotland or something."

"Answer the question." Carley growled.

"I'm Luke." He responded. He then gestured to the man beside him. "This is Nick."

"I'm Carley."

Luke looked to Marianne, who huffed slightly and crossed her arms. "Marianne. Tae establish things; only my maw can call me tha'! Ye call me either Maria or Mary."

"What about 'Anne'?" He asked.

Despite herself, she cracked a small smile. "Ye know, Ah never really heard someone call me tha', lad."

"Okay," Carley interrupted. "Where's the kid?"

Nick gestured from behind him. "It's alright, guys."

Four more people slowly approached them. For sure, there was a kid in their group. A young girl. Flowing black locks and a pair of glasses. A man had a hand on her shoulder, most likely her father. He had equally black locks, although much shorter, and he also had some stubble on his chin. He was wearing an orange plaid shirt. Another man, appearing much older than the others, had greying hair and wore a green jacket. There was a woman in their group. She looked to be almost in her late thirties, early forties. Short brown hair and she was wearing a black jacket with jeans.

Marianne smiled at the young girl. "Hello, there."

The girl smiled back.

"We just saw the fire and we thought we'd check it out." Luke explained. "It's hard to trust people, you know?"

Marianne nodded. "Aye, tha' Ah can understand. Wholeheartedly."

"So, are you from Scotland?"

"Aye. Ah am."

"Where did you guys come from?" Carley asked. "And if you're looking for food, we're pretty much out."

The older man stepped forward and placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. "We've been walking for a while, looking for a safe place to rest." He approached Marianne, holding out his hand to her. "My name's Pete. You in charge, here?"

Marianne hesitantly shook it. "Please tae meet ye. And nae, Ahm no' in charge. Technically, neither o' us are in charge. No point tae leadership."

Pete nodded. "I agree. You know, it isn't exactly safe for two young ladies such as yourselves to be out here on your own."

"Hey, we've been on our own for a few days." Carley stated. "We're doing just fine."

"You never know who you could come across."

"Aye, true enough."

Pete considered the two young women for a moment. "You know, we could use a few people who know how to handle a weapon or two. We've only got two guns, and my nephew here can't shoot for shit." He looked back at Nick, who just sneered and rolled his eyes.

Carley tapped Marianne's shoulder and, catching her attention, made a slight face. _How do you feel about a group?_

Marianne shrugged. _Better than nothing._ She turned her attention back to the group of strangers and carefully addressed them. "Aye, we could tag along fer a while. But... we've just had a bad experience with our one group. One sign o' trouble, and we're gone. Aye?"

The man chuckled. "I already like you; you've got a spirit to you. Alright, that's fine by us."

Marianne held back a sigh. She definitely wasn't comfortable with getting back into another group, especially after the things that had happened with Lee's group. But these seemed like nice people; a couple of families, a child, and two people with a sense of humour. It seemed promising enough.

But she didn't dare hope. Heaven knew that hope only lasted so long in this world.


	10. Spark of Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is hereby the end of this story. The next one will be titled: "The Walking Dead: Losing Faith". I hope y'all truly enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The sun was slowly rising over the horizon, casting small rays of light between branches and bushes. Marianne was still feeling exhausted, having to rest against a tree every so often.

Luke was quick to notice her ailment. "Hey, are you alright?"

She nodded and smiled. "Aye, just a wee bit sick, is all. Been runnin' a fever."

"Carlos, here, is a doctor." He explained. "He can look you over, if you want."

And risk him knowing about the bite? She couldn't risk something like that. So, she shook her head. "Nae, Ahm okay. If it were something serious, Ah'd know it by now."

That had been not even an hour ago. Now, she was starting to feel weak. It wasn't just from the fever, it was from the lack of food as well. She needed to get something in her system before she ended up collapsing and giving everyone else here a reason to believe she could be bitten. It wasn't too far from the truth, but they didn't seem like the type of people to believe that someone could survive a bite.

Marianne's stomach suddenly growled and she quickly held a hand over it, thinking it would somehow control the grumbling. Normally, she wouldn't mind being a bit hungry, but with all of her systems going into overdrive to fight off the sickness, her hunger was becoming more and more apparent by the minute.

The older woman in the group, Jessica, (who turned out to be Nick's mother) suddenly broke the silence. "Why don't you ladies tell us a bit about yourselves? I doubt that you two have been on your own since this all started."

Carley shook her head. "No, we were both part of a bigger group, but we came into it differently. I was a reporter, before this whole thing started. My group and I got holed up in a drug store in Macon."

"Georgia?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. Anyways, after the drug store got overrun by Walkers, we moved down to a Motel. After a few months, that's when Maria showed up."

Luke suddenly became very interested. "I actually recognize the jacket; Stone Mountain. You in a high school?"

Marianne nodded. "Aye, Ah was in the band. We were oan our way tae the playoffs before this all started. Two o' my friends and our teacher got separated, and tha's when we met up with some of Carley's group."

She was keeping out details for a reason; they didn't need to know about the bear trap. That was a bit much and they would want more on the story.

"So, you're just a kid, then?" Pete joked.

She pointed a finger at the older man. "Oy, Ah umnae a wean; Ah should be nineteen about now!"

Jessica couldn't help but smile at the young girl. "So, the rest of your group; what happened to them?"

"We left." Carley quickly answered. "There was some falling out after she got bit. She left because she didn't want to be a detriment, and I followed her."

Marianne suddenly tripped and the rest of the group stopped dead in their tracks, looking at her almost with horror. Carley, who realized her mistake, covered her mouth. Marianne smacked her arm.

"And you said you have a fever?" Luke suddenly started pacing. "Fuck, man..."

Marianne backed up. "Ah was bitten almost over four days ago, Ah have no' turned! This isnae the first time Ah've been bitten, either!"

Nick was visibly agitated, his finger hovering dangerously close to the trigger of his rifle. "Prove it; where are the bites?"

She quickly handed her back pack to Carley and unzipped her jacket, showing her left forearm. "This Ah got just two or three months before meeting Carley's group!" She showed the bite mark on her right shoulder, which was bloodied and covered in scabs. "This Ah got four days ago!"

Carlos gestured to her ear. "And that is...?"

Marianne absent-mindedly rubbed at the scarred bullet wound. "Ah got shot."

"And just when were you planning on telling us about these bites?" Pete asked. "We're strangers to you, but I think you should know that even strangers deserve to know when someone is bitten."

"This reason exactly!" She snapped, her voice cracking at the end of her sentence. "People panic at the sight o' a bite mark, and people never believe tha' ye cannae turn from a bite. Ah dinnae want tae be shot!"

Carlos suddenly approached her and Carley took a defensive stance, her hand resting on the hilt of her gun. "Let me take a look."

"Careful, man." Luke warned him.

Marianne sighed and showed the man her shoulder, wincing as he applied some pressure to it. "How many days ago did you say you got bitten?"

"Three or four."

"And how long have you had the fever?"

"Two days." She replied.

He suddenly tilted her head up into the light, carefully looking into each of them. "Are you coughing up any blood?"

She shook her head and blinked. "Nae."

He then checked the scar on her forearm and briefly compared it to the bite on her shoulder. "Have you been reluctant to eat anything?"

"Ah cannae eat much, now. But, Ah want tae eat, if tha's what ye mean."

"Hm..." Carlos stepped back and carefully assessed Marianne, considering all of his options. She had been sick for longer than what the turning process takes and she showed all the normal signs of a regular fever. The bite mark looked somewhat fresh, but then again, she could have just disturbed the scabs when taking off the jacket. There was no discoloration in her eyes; no milky whites or cloudy greys. And, if she was being honest about not coughing up blood, there was no real symptoms of her turning. "It's a Lurker bite..." He informed the group.

Luke, who was still pacing with his hands behind his head, huffed heavily. "Fuck, man, what do we do?"

"We do nothing." Carlos replied. "If she was going to turn, it would have happened days ago."

"So, she's alright?"

"She's fine. For now."

"So that's it?" Nick asked, almost incredulous. "She's bitten, Carlos!"

Pete gave him a light smack on his arm. "Look, son, Carlos is the doctor here. Not you."

Marianne, tired with being treated like a liability, crossed her arms and sneered at them. "Ye know, we could have shot ye. Or we could have made ye leave. But it was trust tha' kept us from turning ye away. Now, in return, Ahm hoping ye can trust us in return."

Pete crossed his arms and shrugged. "You're already fine in my books. You're honest, which isn't too common."

Jessica nodded. "I agree. You're a kind young girl, the same goes for your friend. And, judging from your other group, you always think about others first before yourself."

Luke stopped pacing and faced Carlos, who set himself back beside his daughter. "Are you certain about the bite?"

"Not completely, but my observation still stands."

Luke looked back to Marianne, who gave him a defiant glare. It was almost as if she was daring him to say no. He was about to, but even if he did, he was still being ruled out by majority. He decided to give her and her friend a chance. "Alright, then. Sure. Yeah, I'm fine with that."

Carley and Marianne looked to Nick, who still looked extremely defensive about the whole situation. Jessica placed a hand on his shoulder, a reassuring gesture, and Nick sighed as his grip relaxed on the gun. "Fine."

Marianne wrapped her jacket around her waist and huffed. "Just keep tha' rifle pointed elsewhere, please. Ah dinnae want another bullet wound."

With the current situation finally taken care of, the group began to move forward once more, although they seemed to keep more of a distance between themselves and Marianne. She hated being treated like she was a disease, but it was understandable. She wasn't about to blame them for wanting to stay safe.

/ / /

_ **2 Days Later...** _

They all sat around the campfire, once again trying to keep themselves as warm as possible. The evenings were incredibly cold, even for being further up north, and they needed to stay as warm as possible.

Marianne was sitting against a rock, her back pack placed beside her. She was humming a small tune to herself, trying to fill in the void of silence that surrounded them. The fever was long gone and the worst thing she was feeling was pain in her right arm. Other than that, she was feeling better than what she had been.

The group had managed to find an abandoned town on their way and, after a thorough search, the had found a little bit of food that lasted them for about a day. Just having food in her system made her feel much better. Only a little bit, though.

Luke, who was sitting beside her, cleared his throat. "So, Anne, you said you were in a band?"

"Aye."

"Well, what did you do? Percussion, trombone?"

Marianne shrugged and looked at him. "Well, Ah actually played the violin, mainly. But Ah also played the flute. My pa' tried tae teach me the guitar, once."

"Can you sing?"

Her brows furrowed. "Why do ye ask, lad?"

He shifted in his spot. "Well, I just heard ya hummin' a tune, there. I thought you could sing."

Marianne raised an eyebrow at him and a small smile formed at the corner of her lips. "Aye, Ah can sing. Ah still got a wee bit o' an accent when Ah do, though. Throws some people off."

Luke hesitated slightly. "Do you think you could sing something?"

She laughed, then, shaking her head. "Och, singing is one thing, lad, but singing by myself is another."

"Well, then let Luke sing with you." Pete chuckled. "He asked, so he may as well sing with you."

Luke's head snapped to the older man and his eyes widened. "I sure as hell can't sing!"

"Tha's whit they all say, Lucas."

"Is it even a good idea to be singing out here?" Nick asked. "Lurkers are attracted to sound."

"We're out in the open, son." Pete stated. "If Lurkers come by, we'll see them before they get the jump on us."

Once they had gotten out of the town, they had walked through the woods for a few more miles before being introduced to a wide-open country side by the road. They saw almost no Chompers in sight and they thought it would be a good idea to take a break before moving on the next day. The moon was a full one and, added with the light of the fire, they could see fairly far away if they tried.

"I like campfire songs!" Sarah, Carlos' daughter, said. A smile could be seen on her face and Marianne smiled in return. "Well, if it's a song ye want, it's a song ye'll get. Now, a good campfire needs a good campfire song. And the best ones are often Country."

Jessica pointed to Luke. "He loves those ones."

"Yeah, but I don't sing 'em."

Marianne leaned back against the rock and shrugged. "Alright. No song, no singing."

Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, just let me think..." He said. He tapped his fingers against his knee in a pensive manner, his eyes staring into the light of the fire. The tapping of his fingers soon slowed to a steady beat and the expression on his face looked more relaxed. " _Yeah, it's been a bumpy road... Roller coasters, high and low..._ "

Marianne's eyes lit up at the sound of the lyrics. She remembered loving that song to absolute bits when she was younger; it had been one of her favourites! She immediately joined in. " _Fill the tank and drive the car, pedal fast, pedal hard. You won't have to go that far!_ "

" _You want to give up, cuz it's dark..._ "

" _We're really no' tha' far apart..._ "

Both of their voices raised together in the chorus, her Scottish brogue and his light Southerner drawl blending in almost perfectly. " _So let your heart, sweet heart, be your compass when you're lost and you should follow it wherever it may go!_ "

Carley recognized the song as well, having listened to it multiple times when she and her partner were driving to some big event. She started to clap along to the beat, a small smile on her face. Jessica and Pete joined in as well, giving the two singers a louder beat to follow.

" _When it's all said and done, you can walk instead of run. Cuz no matter what, you'll never be alone; never be alone!_ "

As they continued to sing, Marianne almost seemed to completely forget where they were, what was truly going on around them. Things felt normal, for a change. No rushing for shelter, no struggle to find food, no worry about being eaten alive. For the first time in a while, she felt happy, she felt content. She had heard a couple of the others joining in the singing, but they were quiet, almost as if they were worried that if they sang too loud they would be disturbing she and Luke.

As the end of the final chorus came around, Carley gestured for them to stop clapping and singing along. The group fell silent, then, allowing for Luke and Marianne to finish.

" _When it's all said and done, ye can walk instead o' run..._ "

Both of their voices joined together for the final line. " _Cuz no matter what, you'll never be alone..._ "

Sarah clapped and giggled. "That was great!"

"What're you talking about with your accent, Mary?" Pete asked. "I could hear it, but it sounded just fine!"

Marianne rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, Ah guess it depends oan the song."

"Well, I thought you did just fine." Luke complimented her.

"Thank ye. And ye were alright." She joked.

Luke was about to reciprocate but his eyes caught sight of something coming down the road. "Uh, guys? Is that a car?"

Pete stood up and looked down the road at the approaching light. "There's nothing to worry about. I doubt they'll see us."

As the vehicle got closer and closer to them, it started to slow down, red lights shining behind it. Marianne grabbed her crossbow and quickly loaded it. "Ye were saying, Peter?"

Carley, Carlos and Nick all got their guns loaded and ready. It could have been just one person in that vehicle, but there was no telling if they could be dangerous or not. "Fingers off the triggers." Pete reminded them.

The vehicle stopped and parked on the side of the road. One person could be seen opening the door. One person. But they still didn't know if they had a gun.

"I'm friendly, no need to shoot!" He called out.

Marianne rolled her eyes. That's what they all say, she thought.

"How many of you are there?" Pete asked.

As the man came into light, his features became more and more apparent. He was a somewhat older man, Marianne guessed he was in his mid thirties, if not his late thirties. He had short, dark brown hair and thick stubble along his jawline and upper lip. He wore a brown coat with a fur-lined hood and a pair of dark jeans. "Just me. The name's William Carver." He informed them. As he spoke, he had a deep, scratchy voice that kind of reminded Marianne of her school principal; big and scary.

"Is there something you want?" Pete asked.

"I've just been trying to start up a community further north. I was just headed back there, actually." He explained. "I've been moving through different areas to see if other survivors would care to join, but I haven't been having much luck."

Everyone looked at each other, shocked and surprised. "Is this community of yours safe?" Luke inquired.

He made a gesture with his hand. "More or less. We've been working on a better defense system, however. We have food, water, shelter, and we're just starting up a greenhouse to get some fresh fruits and vegetables growing."

The more she heard, the more it sounded almost too good to be true. This made Marianne almost suspicious of the man.

"Have you been through Savannah area?" Carley asked, a spark of hope in her eyes.

William thought for a moment. "No, we haven't. But there are a couple of people that said they came from there."

Marianne and Carley exchanged a look. That meant that Lee and Clementine could be there!

"Is there enough room for all of us to fit?" Carley asked.

"My truck is big enough, but some of you will have to sit in the back."

Pete considered William's offer for a brief moment. "Just give us a minute." He turned to face the group. "Well, what do the rest of you think?"

"We need food." Carlos stated. "And medicine."

Nick, of course, was very speculative. "It almost sounds a little too good."

"Nick, how much longer do you think we can go on for?" Luke hissed at him.

Jessica shook her head. "Just how many members are there? Is there even enough food to support everyone?"

"Let's put it to a vote." Pete suggested. "You can choose to stay, even if more people choose to go, but I really don't want to see us get separated."

When they all nodded, he cleared his throat. "All those in favour?"

Pete, Luke, Carlos, Sarah, Marianne and Carley all raised their hands.

"And those opposed?"

Just Nick and Jessica raised their hands, but Jessica then quickly put it back down. "Actually, I switch my vote."

"Are you serious, mom?!"

"Think about it, Nick; it's much safer there than walking around aimlessly out here!" She tried to reason with her son. "If everyone else is going to go, then we should too."

Nick hesitated. He didn't want to leave his mom or his uncle, but he still didn't fully trust the stranger. However, if what the stranger was talking about was true, then he just missed out the possibility of safety and food. He sighed with defeat. "Alright."

Pete nodded and turned back to William, who had been waiting patiently for them to finish talking things over. "Alright, we'll all come with you."

Willam smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. Just pile into the truck, and we'll be on our way."

Carlos, Sarah, Pete and Jessica piled into the cab of the truck while Carley, Marianne, Nick and Luke all jumped into the back. Marianne wasn't a fan of being outside of a moving vehicle, but with next to no drivers on the road, she felt at least a little bit better about it.

"Everyone in?" Carver asked them.

She patted the side of the truck. "Aye, we're good!"

The vehicle turned sharply back onto the road and took off, making Marianne crash into the side of the cargo bed. She groaned loudly and sunk down. "My ribs..."

"Hang on." Luke told her with a cheeky smile.

She grinned sarcastically. "Aye, thank ye fer tha'."

/ / /

She felt someone shaking her shoulder and she curled into a tight ball, turning onto her side. "Go 'wey..." She muttered.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" William shouted.

Marianne, startled, swung her arm out and slammed her fist into the side of the cargo bed, making her groan in pain. "Bloody eejit..." She grumbled.

"You're not one for early mornings, are you?"

She groaned and sat up. "Nae."

As Marianne got her gear ready, she saw that the sun was only just beginning to rise up in the horizon. It was most likely somewhere around six or seven o'clock. Everyone else was also already out of the truck. Swinging her back pack over her shoulder, she jumped out from the cargo bed and landed on the ground with a groan. "Where are we?" She asked.

"Tennessee. This here is where the community is being set up."

She looked to where William was pointing and she winced. " _Howe's Hardware_?"

He placed his hands on his hips. "I know, it doesn't look like much right now but with a little bit of time, I think it'll be one of the safest places you could be."

It was a load of crap, she thought. The fortifications were alright for a starting community; a barred fence around the outdoor section of the store was covered in thick plywood and half of the top was covered with barbed wire. The place they were walking to was most likely the warehouse section of the store, as there were garage doors that were most likely meant for transport trucks. The outside didn't look like much, but she was going to wait to judge until she saw the inside.

William knocked on one of the doors and it rolled open to reveal two people, both with guns. "Tavia, Troy." He greeted them. "We've got some new members to our community."

The two strangers nodded their greeting to the group. Tavia was also an older woman, most likely in her late twenties. She had dark skin and darker, curly hair which was tied back with some sort of bandanna. She wore a green vest with a pale red shirt underneath and a dark pair of jeans. The man, Troy, looked almost lanky but terrifying. The way his eyes were, for whatever reason they just put Marianne off. He had short, greasy-looking brown hair and was wearing a camouflage jacket with light blue jeans. A small shiver ran down her spine. She _really_ didn't like him.

William hopped up onto the platform and gestured for them to follow. "Up you come."

Marianne, who was only just a bit taller than the platform, jumped up and heaved upward with her arms, groaning loudly as the edge ground into her pelvis. She forgot how weak she could be when she was tired... She swung her leg over and rolled the rest of the way up. "Ye need stairs or something..." She muttered. Before she could be offered a hand, she picked herself up and dusted herself off, looking around the warehouse.

It was definitely spacious, and it seemed to serve as the storage area for the food and supplies. Holy Hannah, was there ever a lot of them! Loads of jugs of water, sacks of rice and beans, cans of vegetables and loads of boxes of non-perishable items. There were even personal hygiene products!

Her eyes fell onto two people, one a man, the other a woman, who were approaching them. She noticed the rings on their fingers. _'Married...'_

No signs of either Lee or Clementine.

"Alvin, Rebecca, these are some new members we just recently received." William informed the couple. "I'm certain you all can introduce yourselves. I'm not certain I got your names, either."

As the group introduced themselves, Marianne looked around the warehouse a bit more. There was a door that was covered with heavy sheet metal. She didn't know what it was for, but it was most likely something that William didn't want anyone else getting into. There was another warehouse area that had a lot of crates and boxes, most likely items that were meant to restock the store before the whole outbreak happened. There was also a ladder leading up to the roof of the building.

Just needed a bit of extra work, she thought.

Someone suddenly tapped her shoulder and she turned around to see everyone looking at her expectantly. She shook her head, snapping back into reality. "Right; Ahm Marianne. But only my maw can call me tha', so call me Maria or Mary."

"Good; now that we have introductions out of the way, there's just one small rule we have here." William stated. "All weapons are to be handed over so they can be stored for safe keeping."

Marianne removed her back pack. "Ah dinnae mind ye taking the crossbow."

Troy took her back pack and removed the crossbow, arrows and hatchet and then threw the bag back at her. She was barely able to catch it and she glared daggers at the man.

The rest of the group surrendered their weapons (although some more hesitantly than others). Carley almost didn't surrender hers, but one look from Marianne, and she placed the gun in Tavia's hand.

"With that all over," William walked forward into the room with the crates. "We were just beginning to make dinner. I'm sure you guys are starving."

Everyone's faces lit up at the hopes of finally being able to eat a decent meal. "We don't have a decent table, so just set yourself on one of the crates and you should be fine."

Marianne set herself on one of the furthest crates, wanting to put some distance between she and the others. She needed room to think. As Luke made her way towards her, however, all those thoughts of even thinking about things were thrown out the window in an instant.

He placed himself beside her, shuffling almost awkwardly. "You use a crossbow?"

He was trying to make small talk, she knew. She had had multiple boys flirt with her back in high school, so she knew when someone was crushing on her. Still, she didn't mind the conversation. "Aye. Ahm no' entirely comfortable with using a gun. Too loud, and messy. Ah prefer something a wee bit quieter."

"I never really learned how to shoot a gun or rifle, myself." He told her. "I'm better with my machete, anyways."

Marianne clicked the heels of her shoes together and Luke cleared his throat. She was never good with small talk. Most of the time, when guys tried to make small talk with her, she would put them off. All they would really be looking for is sex, anyhow, and she wasn't about that sort of thing. At all. But this man? He was trying to be friendly. He wasn't flirting, but she could tell he had some sort of crush on her.

"So, you and Carley." She raised an eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat again. "Are you two, you know..." Luke crossed his fingers.

Her eyes widened as her lips pursed and her head tilted to the side, looking as if she was ready to hit him. He retracted his fingers and rested his hands on his lap. Without looking away, she pulled her silver cross necklace out from under her jacket. "Nae."

He swallowed. "Uh, sorry. I didn't know."

Placing the cross back under her jacket, Marianne sighed. "Nae, it's fine, Lukas. Ah guess Ahm just no' used tae people thinking tha' about me. Back in high school, I was pretty well known fer my religion and my temper. So, nobody really assumed Ah was homosexual. Yer fine." But Holy Hannah, she thought, if that wasn't 'availability checking', then she didn't know what was!

"You know, though, I think it's great. The religion thing. I guess it's something that gives you a bit of hope."

She nodded and smiled. "Aye; it's what's kept me going fer so long. Reminds me tha' Ahm never truly alone."

William made his way into the room with a cart full of steaming plates of food. Marianne's mouth immediately began to water. Rice and beans, probably one of the more better mixes of food she could think of. Almost reminded her of her mother's cooking.

"Alright, food is ready." He said as he handed out the food. "Not really breakfast food, but it's something. After you're done, there's some work that could be done."

Once Marianne received her food, she held the silver pendant in her hands and whispered a quick prayer. "Lord, Ah thank ye tha' we were able tae find such good people. Thank ye fer blessing us with this meal..."

Luke ate at his own food, but he listened in to her small prayer. She really _was_ serious about her faith, he thought. At first he just thought it was just something that she started following once the outbreak started, but it sounded like she was more than just a 'mild believer'. It was somewhat refreshing, if he could be honest.

Her prayer finished, she released the cross and scooped a spoonful of the rice. The instant the food hit her tongue, she was hit with a mix of flavours. She had been so used to eating the cold stuff, and the bland stuff, that she almost had forgotten what a home-cooked meal was like. She swallowed and licked at her lips. "Oh, heavens, tha's good!"

As she continued to eat her meal, her previous suspicions were soon thrown out of the window. Things could be better here, she thought. This community, they had a system. And if they kept growing, there could be a larger community. It could almost be a safe haven, a beacon of hope for others. As long as they kept the food and water supplies up, things could be simply perfect.

Little did she know of the hell-storm that was soon to come.


End file.
